A Long Way Home
by Elizabeth Robbins
Summary: AU. Jubilee and Logan are lovers but are they all that happy? Jubilee has been shot! Can Logan deal with it and keep his head?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: The X-Men are the property of Marvel comics and are being used without permission. I am making no money from their use. All other characters are my own.

A/N: This is kind of a "What If" story. It takes place may years in the future. Logan and Jubilee are already lovers but they are not all that happy. Jubilee is of legal age from the very beginning. She iseighteen in the prologue thirty-one at the beginning of the first chapter. Wolvie is, by no means, a pedophile.

Prologue

"Dammit, Jubilee!" Logan roared, "I ain't goin' over this again." They were in his room, arguing loudly enough for the entire mansion to hear. They usually did not argue in the house but she had brought up a sore subject and he could not help himself. "Ya know how I feel about her so why in the hell did ya bring it up again?" He leapt from the bed and pulled on his worn jeans, zipping them quickly.

Jubilee sat up and watched him dress, her temper boiling. "She's married, Logan," she ground out, frustrated with him. "Why can't you get that through your damned thick metal skull?"

He turned to her, ready to shout at her again. The sheet had fallen, exposing her coral tipped breasts to his gaze and his mouth went dry. 'God, she's beautiful,' he told himself. He shook his head and relocated his gaze to her angry face.

"I know she's married," he said, wishing it could be different. "That don't change how I feel about her."

Jubilee flipped the sheet back and climbed out of the bed to stand before him. She ignored her nudity and faced him down. "We've been lovers for a month," she fumed. "Every time we make love, you're not really there. You're with Jean, making love to her. How do you think I feel? My lover, the love of my life, pretends that I'm someone else. Do you have any idea how degrading that is? Never once, in the entire time we've been sleeping together, have you made love to me - Jubilee, not Jean. I hate it." Her vision swam as the angry tears threatened to fall, yet she refused to cry in front of him.

"I'm leaving, Logan." she told him when she had regained control of her emotions. "I can't stand being used anymore."

She turned and grabbed her robe, shoving her arms roughly into the sleeves and walked to the door. "I'm sorry, Logan," she whispered. "I had hoped I could bring you some happiness but I was wrong. You don't want happiness. You like your misery."

He could smell tears. They weren't tears of anger, but ones of deep sadness and disappointment. He heard the door close with a click of finality and wanted to go after her; tell her she was wrong but he could not. Everything she accused him of was true and he could not face it.

He remembered when it started. She had slipped into his room the night of her eighteenth birthday and climbed into bed with him. That, in itself, was not unusual. She had terrible nightmares that sent her scurrying into his bed for comfort and safety. Even the dream he had that night was not any different than the previous erotic dreams he had been having since coming to the mansion. The only difference was that Jubilee was in his bed and available to ease the burning ache in his groin. He woke the next morning ashamed of his actions. She was his best friend and partner and too young for him. She had her entire life ahead of her and only God knew how old he was. She deserved better than an old, mentally fragile warrior who was in love with a married woman.

He tried to leave but Jubilee had shamed him into staying by asking if she was just one of his one night stands. He could not do that to her. She was a very important part of his life. A month passed and he found that they had started an affair that felt surprisingly comfortable to him. He knew she loved him. He had known that for several years. She never very good at hiding her emotions from him. He wanted to tell her he loved her too - but he could not. He loved Jean.

By late the next afternoon, she was packed and ready to leave. Scott tried desperately to get her to stay. She was a critical part of the team and losing her would bring them up short in many areas. She tried to explain to him why she was leaving but it was too new, too raw. She could not force the words out. He accepted her lame excuse with very poor grace and left her to load her car.

Logan watched her as she tucked boxes and bags into the small car, his mind restless. She was leaving him. He wanted to feel happy for her bid for freedom and maturity. He knew she felt used and wanted to find a life for herself but all he could think of was that she was leaving him.

"Yer really gonna do this?" he asked from his position near the open garage doors.

"I have to," she said, not looking at him.

He pushed himself away from the wall and came up behind her. "Will ya at least keep in touch with me?" he asked.

"No," she murmured. "I'll let Cyke know where I am but I think it's best if you stay away from me."

She was not angry with him, she did not hate him. He could tell that by her scent but she was grieving and melancholy. Every instinct told him to take her in his arms and comfort her, but he could not do that this time. This time, he was the cause of her pain and holding her would just make it worse.

She fitted the last bag into the trunk and closed it. Her red rimed eyes met his. She stepped into his arms and gave him a hard hug. "I'm going to miss you, Wolvie," she said into his shoulder.

A lump grew in his throat, nearly choking him as he saw the determination in her eyes. It was the first time she had called him 'Wolvie' since they started sleeping together. His arms came around her to hold her one last time, knowing it was over. "Take care of yerself, darlin'" he said, his voice rough. "I'll be here if ya need me."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be what you needed me to be," she said into his chest. "I just wanted you to be happy."

"And you leavin' me is gonna make me happy?" he asked thickly.

"I want me to be happy, too." she said. "I won't be if I stay here." She stepped away from him and looked him straight in the eye. "I hope you find what you're looking for, Wolvie."

He watched the retreating car as it went through the gates and turned onto Greymalkin Lane. The gates swung closed and the light went from red to green, indicating a positive lock. He stood in the garage watching the gate for hours, certain that she would turn around and come back. When the sun had started to shine in his eyes, he moved to the trees. Climbing the tree closest to the road, he resumed his watch.

"She'll come back," he muttered aloud. "She needs her Wolvie."

When he finally returned to the house, it was well past dark.

The blast slammed him into the closed door with such force that he nearly lost consciousness. When his vision cleared, Cyclops was standing over him, his face a mask of rage. "You son of a bitch!" he snarled. "You drove her away!" Scott's adamantium reinforced glove slammed into his temple and Logan felt a berserker rage growing as his anger rose to meet the threat.

Cyclops did not give him time to channel the rage. He continued to pummel the shorter man with fists and feet. A hard fist slammed into his gut and Logan felt something tear in his belly.

By the time Rogue and Jean were able to separate them, Logan's eyes were swollen shut and he could feel his liver trying to repair itself. A normal man would have died from the punishing blows. Logan would be in a great deal of pain for a day or two, but he would recover: He always did, much to his regret.

"Don't ever talk to me about her again!" Cyclops yelled, trying to escape Rogue's iron hold on him and get to the moaning feral. "I don't want to hear her name from your mouth for as long as I live or, so help me, Wolverine, I'll kill you!"

Logan laid on the floor in agony as the leader of the X-Men, followed by Rogue, stalked away from him in a boiling rage. Through his pain, Logan felt an overwhelming shame for how he had treated Jubilee and had their roles been reversed, he would have done the same thing Scott had done.

It was months before Scott would talk to him other than issuing orders in the field and when he did speak to him, the scents of anger and hate would roll off of him. The rest of the team made it clear that they blamed him for Jubilee's departure. Even Gambit could not bring himself to be cordial to him.

Logan could not blame them for their anger. He was angry with himself, too. For years, he made love to Jean in his dreams, doing to his dream Jean everything he had learned over the years about pleasuring a woman. Two nights after Jubilee left, the dream returned but now, the petite firecracker was the woman writhing under him. He never had another erotic dream about any other woman.

He left the mansion several months after she left, finally realizing that she was not going to fulfill his wish and come home. He wandered the world for years, all the while searching for her. Every time he saw a beautiful, young Asian woman, his heart would beat a little faster.

He thought he had found her once in Madripoor. The girl was a young, Chinese prostitute working a corner not far from his own establishment, The Princess Bar. He knew when he was close enough to smell her that she was not Jubilee but he invited her to his room anyway. It was a mistake. Not only did he develop a lump in his chest that made it difficult to breathe but he found that, for the first time in his life, he could not perform. She just was not the woman he wanted.

Then, the unthinkable happened: Jean was killed and this time, there was a body.

He sat in his room after Jean's funeral and thought about the beautiful telepath for several hours. He was surprised to find that he was saddened but not devastated by her death. He realized that if it had been Jubilee that died, he would have been inconsolable. The thought of living his life without her filled him with such panic that he felt light headed.

He spent hours looking at pictures of her, wishing she was with him. Every time something happened that would put Cyclops in a bad light, he would think, 'Jubes would have loved this'. His thoughts were consumed with her. He wanted her back with every fiber of his being, even if he never got her back into his bed. He needed her. He loved her.

He was sure she would return when Charles died. He had raced back from his cabin in Canada to attend the funeral, positive that she would be there. He searched the mansion all day, trying to find her but she had not come. Instead, she had sent a large floral arrangement and a note of condolences. It was a Charles' funeral that he found out that she had been in contact with the team all along, calling once a month just to tell them she was alive and not to worry about her. He decided to move back into the mansion in the hope that she would talk to him again.

It went on like that for years. She would call the mansion and talk with everyone except him. He found out a few years ago where she was and what she was doing but he did not go to her. He wanted to. His heart ached with wanting to go to her but he knew she needed to be the one to make the first move.

And suddenly, she had made it. After twelve years, Jubilee was coming home.


	2. The Flight Home

The Flight Home.

Los Angeles, California.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Jubilee?" Scott asked as he helped her load boxes into the Blackbird's vast hold. "Logan isn't around much but he does still live there."

"I don't have a choice," she told him as she lifted a bicycle into the hold. "Mari manifested early and needs help that I can't give her. If Emma can't teach her to shield, she's going to go insane. I mean, I can teach her about bio-energy but that's not her power. She's a telepath. I just can't help her. And with her healing factor beginning to make itself known, she's not safe anymore."

Scott stared at his shoes in apparent fascination. "You never told Logan about Mari, did you?" he asked.

Jubilee fell silent, nervously shifting boxes around unnecessarily.

"Jubilee?" he said, looking over at her.

"I couldn't," she said quietly, not looking at him.

"Why?"

"He would have wanted to see her," she said. "I couldn't, Scott. I just ... couldn't."

"What are you going to tell him?"

"I don't know," she admitted.

"He's going to know," Scott told her.

"Maybe not. She doesn't look like him."

"Jubilee, I know we've had this argument over and over before but you need to tell him. He has the right to know."

"Does he?" she demanded, her head coming up in defiance. "I never told you why I left. You don't know what I went through while I was with him."

"Did he beat you?" Scott demanded.

"Of course not!" she scoffed, appalled that he would think that of Logan.

"Did he cheat on you?"

"Not physically," she admitted.

"What's_ that_ supposed to mean?"

"Every time we made love, he would pretend I was someone else."

"You're kidding!" he said, surprised. "Logan didn't have his mind on the woman he was with? Who was he thinking about?"

"Who do you think he was thinking about?" she asked, scathingly.

"Jean?" he guessed.

"Yeah," she said. "I couldn't compete with her like that and I didn't want to stay with him if he couldn't make love to_ me_ and not the Jean in his mind."

"Oh, Jubilee," he sighed, pulling her into his arms and holding her. "I'm so sorry." After a moment, he said softly, "What Logan did isn't all that unusual when it comes to men. We kind of live by our fantasies."

"All the time?" she asked. "Every time?"

"Well, no," he admitted. "Not every time."

"With Logan, it was every time." She stepped out of his arms and returned to moving the boxes around.

"How did you know? I don't think that's something he would admit to you, no matter how you asked."

"He would call her name at just the wrong moment, if you know what I mean."

"Oh."

"Yeah. That kind of thing lets you know he's not really with you."

"Mom?" A dark headed girl came ambling up the ramp searching for her mother.

"Hey, Mari." Jubilee plastered a smile on her face for her daughter. "Do you have everything packed up?"

"Almost," she said. "I need another large box."

Scott pulled a flattened box from the stack near the back. "Here you go, Mari." he said as he handed her the box.

"Thanks," she said. "Are you really Cyclops?" she asked, her head cocked at an angle that reminded him of her mother.

"He sure is," Jubilee said. "He's the leader of the X-Men."

"Your mom used to be an X-Man, also," he told the girl.

"I know that but she was only with the team for two years. You've been in from the very beginning." Mari said, adoration clear in her voice. "Will I get to be an X-Man?"

"Well," he said looking over Mari's head at Jubilee who was shaking her head frantically, "that depends on you. If you study and work hard, we can discuss it later, when you're grown."

"Radical!" she squealed. "I'll work real hard. Just watch me!" She ran off toward the house, the flattened box waving behind her.

"Mari!" Jubilee called after her. She sighed in frustration as Mari ran into the house without looking back. She looked over at Scott, an angry scowl on her face. "I don't want her joining the team, Scott." Jubilee told him.

"That's up to her when she's an adult. We don't take minors anymore."

"I don't want my kid risking her life like I did. She deserves more."

"We all do, Jubilee." he told. "Mari needs to learn to protect herself and you know that."

"She knows how to protect herself." Jubilee told him. "I'm not that stupid. I don't think she needs to learn battle strategies and I definitely don't want her involved with the team."

"You don't want her to have classes with Logan." he corrected.

"Can you blame me?" she asked.

"She's going to be living in the same house with him. There's no way she can avoid running into him."

Jubilee dropped into a chair and rubbed her eyes in defeat. "Oh, God," she moaned. "How am I going to explain to him why I kept his daughter a secret?"

Scott watched as she tried to figure out what she was going to tell her former lover. She was thirty now and the years had been easy on her. She still looked much like the teen he used to know but her eyes held a maturity that was not there before. She had been a pretty girl but that girl was gone. In her place stood a stunning woman, vivacious and sexy. If he was not committed to Emma, he would have tried to attract this beautiful woman. Logan was in for several nasty surprises, the least of which was Mari.

It took them several hours to pack Mari's belongings into the Blackbird and get into the air. He decided to keep the plane subsonic for the return trip. He needed to get to know Mari and decide if Jubilee was ready to see Logan again.

"Are you going to have to go back for business?" he asked after Mari fell asleep.

"Eventually," she told him. "I stopped taking buyers a month ago and I have an assistant who can do some of the work but I'll need to go back in a few days for some closings."

"Hum..." he said.

"I don't need to work, Scott." she said. "Aunt Hope left me a pile of money but I get bored easy."

"Don't I know that!" he agreed with a laugh.

She smiled saucily at him. "Real estate keeps me busy and I get to snoop in other peoples houses. That's how I found that plot I called you about three years ago. He called me and asked me to sell his house. I can't help it if he was stupid enough to leave the evidence out in the open. He got what was coming to him."

Logan had not been with them for that mission so Scott had felt safe to visit her in her home when the mission was completed. Jubilee had taken the precaution of sending Mari to a friend for the night. He could understand why she did it. It was not so much that Logan could have been with them. It was more that she did not want the team to know and spill the news to him. She needed to be the one to tell him.

"Are you ready to face him?"

"Not really," she admitted, "but I can't delay it any longer. Mari has a healing factor. Not many people know about her but she's a target for every government goober out there, now. I can't protect her anymore."

"What have you told her about him?"

"That he was my mentor and teacher. She doesn't know that he's her father. I'm going to have to tell her soon. I don't have a choice anymore."

"Emma will know."

"She'll keep it quiet."

"How do you figure that?"

"I already told her. She's agreed to keep quiet about it until I can tell both of them."

"_Will_ you tell them?"

He heard her take a deep breath and exhale loudly. "Yeah. Like I said; I don't have a choice anymore."

They continued on in silence for over an hour before Scott interrupted the quiet with the one question she had hoped he would not ask.

"Do you still love him?"

The words tore through her heart. She had tried not to love him. She had prayed, repeatedly, for God to take her love for him away and let her find happiness but it did not work. She had taken lovers over the years, searching for companionship. Most were too tall, or too hairless. All were too nice. None were the man she had been looking for; the man she craved with every fiber of her being. The thought of living the rest of her life without him filled her with such pain that she nearly doubled over with it.

Scott waited for her to make up her mind. He was just about to ask her again when he heard her sniffle back her tears.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." he said. "Just for the record, I think he loves you, too."

"No, he doesn't." she said, her voice thick with unshed tears. "He loves the memory of Jean."

"No," Scott sighed sadly, "that would be me."

"Oh, Scott." she said gently. "She haunts you, doesn't she?" Her hand came down on top of his and squeezed.

"Every moment of my days and nights." he admitted in a low voice. "I don't know how Emma puts up with me. I love her but there are nights when all I can see is Jean. I feel her with me. I make love to her again. Emma can tell what I'm thinking about but she never confronts me with it. So, I know where Logan's coming from. I'm guilty of it myself."

Jubilee fell quiet for a long minute. "I loved her, you know." she finally said. "Even when she came between Logan and me, I still loved her. She was like my big sister. She even let me vent to her when he first cried her name."

"She loved you, too." Scott told her. "She worried about you for the rest of her life. I didn't tell her about the baby but I'm sure she knew. I never could keep a secret from her, even before we started seeing each other. It wasn't long after you told me you were expecting Mari that she started asking when we were going to start our own family."

"What happened?"

"We tried. She lost two before she got pregnant the last time. She was eight weeks when she died."

"Oh, God," she breathed. "Why didn't you tell me when I called?"

"I couldn't. I tried to tell you but I couldn't make myself say the words." He reached forward and adjusted the autopilot slightly. "You're the only one who knows. I haven't even told Emma that Jean was pregnant when she died."

She was surprised that he would tell her this. He was usually so private. She looked at him closely. He was older now but that was to be expected. It had been three years since she had last seen him and the mantle of leadership weighed heavily upon him since Xavier's death. He had gray at his temples but it only made him more attractive. It was strange. All her life she had thought of Scott as an anal retentive stick in the mud. The leader: the robot. For the first time, she saw him as a man and she like what she saw. She could see why Emma wanted him.

"You've changed," she remarked.

"I haven't changed, Jubilee," he corrected, "not really. But you have. You've grown into a beautiful, intelligent woman who has the world at her feet. As painful as it was to leave, these years away from the mansion have been good for you."

"You're right," she said, surprised that he understood. "I needed time to learn who I was, apart from the X-Men. I like the woman I've become. She's smart, rich and has a very full social calender. The only thing she's having problems with in her life is her eleven year old daughter."

"Are you having problems with her?"

Jubilee did not answer. She could hear Mari approaching the cockpit, her footfalls heavy on the deck. Jubilee shook her head. Someone will have to teach her how to move with some semblance of stealth.

"How much longer?" Mari asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Just over an hour," Scott told her. "We'll start our descent in fifteen minutes."

"Can I try flying the plane for a while?" she asked hopefully.

"No!" Jubilee said quickly.

"Why not?" she said, her attitude showing. "You used to."

"I was trained to fly the plane and I was older."

"It's always about older, isn't it. That's always your excuse for not letting me do something."

"Mari," Scott interrupted the argument, "the Blackbird is one of the most difficult planes to fly. I won't even let you mother fly it again without checking her out in the simulator first."

"You have to be sixteen to pilot a powered aircraft and eighteen to fly a jet." Jubilee argued. "I wouldn't even attempt to fly this thing. It's been a long time since I flew a supersonic jet."

"You weren't sixteen," Mari countered. Hostility was clear in her expression. "You told me that you once took one of the mini jets and chased Wolvie down in Japan. You said you were fourteen at the time. Why can you do it and not me?"

"I was young and stupid at the time." Jubilee protested.

"So you think I'm stupid?" Mari crossed her arms and glared at her mother.

"I didn't say that, Mari." Jubilee said through clenched teeth. "I said _I _was stupid."

"Yes you did," Mari countered. "You think I'm stupid just 'cause I'm a kid."

"Mari," Jubilee sighed, "I know you're not stupid. I've seen your grades. You're just not ready to do things like flying an airplane yet."

A loud whistle cut through to cabin with an earsplitting shriek. Both Lee females stopped and stared at Scott in surprise.

"Break it up," he ordered in his best 'Fearless Leader' voice. "Jubilee, stay here. Mari, go back to your seat. I won't have fighting on this plane."

"Yes sir," Jubilee said automatically.

"Fine," Mari huffed. She turned on her heel and marched back to her seat.

"When did this start?" Scott asked in a low voice.

"In the last year," Jubilee told him. "At first, I was just having a hard time getting her to clean her room. As you can see, it's progressed from there. She argues with me about everything now."

"Maybe it's time for Logan to step in and take over parenting her," Scott suggested gently. "He always was good at understanding the adolescent female mind."

Jubilee looked at him in horror.

"Just a suggestion, you know. You don't have to take my advice."

The remainder of the flight passed without incident. Scott brought the jet down with his usual economy and landed it gently in its hanger.

"Are you ready for this?" he asked the nervous woman as he powered down the engines.

She squared her shoulders and nodded. "Let's go."


	3. Old Friends

Old Friends

Mari and Scott were the first ones off the plane. They were met by a small cluster of mutants. Scott made the introductions. "Mari, this is Ororo Munroe, also called Storm. She will be your adviser. This is Emma Frost, also known as the White Queen. She is headmistress. And Hank McCoy, our school doctor. He's called Beast. Everyone, this is Mari Lee."

Mari looked over the faces. All of them had a look of confused recognition. She had heard about these people over the years. Her mother claimed them as her family.

"Welcome to the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, Mari," Storm said kindly. "I hope your stay is happy and educational."

Emma was not paying attention to Scott. She was staring at the woman who appeared at the top of the ramp with undisguised surprise.

A door banged open, drawing nearly every eye as a girl of about thirteen ran into the hanger. "Sorry I'm late," she said breathlessly. "You must be Mari. I'm Allyson Green. We're roommates. Ya got a bag? C'mon, I'll show you our room. It's great. We have a view of the pool so we get to see all the guys in as little as possible." She paused and looked over at Hank. "Do ya need ta see the doctor? No? Well, let's get going. We got so much ta see."

"You still have curfew, Allyson." Scott warned as the gregarious girl dragged Mari out of the hanger.

"Don't worry, Mr Summers. We'll be in bed by ten." she yelled as the door closed.

"How is she going to manage that?" Jubilee asked from the top of the ramp. "It's quarter till now."

Ororo and Hank spun around at the familiar voice. Emma, who had not taken her eyes off Jubilee just stood there, a smile of pride on her face.

"Jubilee?" Ororo gasped.

"Oh my stars..." Hank whispered.

Jubilee walked slowly down the ramp, unsure of her reception. She could see Emma smiling but the shock on 'Ro and Hank's faces intimidated her. What if they were angry at her for staying away for so long? What if they would not accept her back, even as a visitor?

All her fears were put to rest when she was enveloped in a huge, hairy, blue hug that threatened to break every rib she had. Every moment of missing them suddenly rushed into her heart and she began to sob. She could not speak for a long time she was crying so hard. The din of voices ran through her head but nothing was clear. She felt herself lifted into strong arms and carried from the hangar like a child. She buried her face into the warm, hairy chest and continued to cry.

"**Jubilation,"** she heard Emma call in her head, **"please try to get a hold of yourself. You're making me cry now."**

Jubilee gave a watery giggle at the thought of the White Queen crying and raised her head. She found herself cradled in Hank's strong arms. The fur of his face was wet with tears.

"I missed you guys so much," she sobbed.

Hank carried her into the rec room, the others trailing behind him. She could hear Emma telepathically calling the rest of the team downstairs. Jubilee felt a jolt of fear.

"**He's not here right now," **Emma told her. **"Scott made sure he was gone when you came home."**

"**Thanks,"** she sent, a weak smile on her lips.

She spent hours catching her family up on her life. They were surprised to find out that the new student was her daughter. Scott was nearly killed when he admitted that he had known where she was the entire time. She told them about Mari's problems and how she needed their help.

"That's what we're here for, Sugah," Rogue said, hugging her as hard as she dared.

Remy walked her to her room in the guest wing after everyone else had gone to bed. She had always felt comfortable around him. He never made demands on her that made her uncomfortable, mainly because he was so very much in love with Rogue. Scott had called her six years ago when the couple had finally married after years of frustrating and painful give and take between them.

They walked down the halls, her arm through his, silently telling each other by touch, how much they missed each other. Next to Logan, he was her best friend at the mansion. When she ran out of Logan's room the night before she left, Remy was the one she went to. He did not judge her. He just held her and told her that he would support her, no matter what she chose to do. His support had given her the courage to go through with her plan to leave.

"You still hurtin', p'tite," Remy murmured as he opened her door. "Remy know."

"I'm afraid to see him," she admitted.

"Mari, she de Wolverine's child?" he asked.

"She's _my_ child," Jubilee corrected. Gambit's eyebrows rose in question. Jubilee refused to tell him more.

"You still love de homme?" he asked, lowering his lanky frame to the bed.

"You and Scott," she laughed. "You're both so nosy."

"Gambit, he a t'ief. He get what he need any way he can," Remy said with a grin.

"Yeah, well, go find someone else to grill."

He watched her as she unpacked her suitcase. Her taste in clothing had improved over the years. She still dressed in bright colors but the cut and quality of her clothes was much better. Silk and linen suits in blood red and bright yellow appeared and were neatly hung up in the closet. Casual clothes and lingerie appeared next. His mind wandered to the woman with him.

She had grown into a beautiful woman. She was not any taller. She was a petite package that packed a huge punch. She was self assured and aware of her effect on the opposite sex. Remy began to feel sorry for Logan. She was going to wrap him around her finger without even trying. He would not know what hit him.

"P'tite, Logan don' know when you were comin' home." Remy told her.

"I know." She paused as she was putting away her lingerie. "Emma told me." She went back to unpacking her suitcase.

"He been with Stormy, off and on, fer two years now."

Jubilee stopped moving. "Has he?" she said in a very small voice. She shook her head and continued putting her toiletries in the bathroom. "I'm glad he moved on. I did."

"I don' think so," he said as he unfolded himself and rose from the bed. "Remy don' think either of you moved on. Remy think you both jus markin' time."

"Oh for heaven's sake! I've moved on, Remy. I'm over him. I haven't been celibate for twelve years and I know he couldn't possibly be celibate that long."

"Why you ain't married, den?"

"Why isn't Logan?" she countered.

"Cause he don' love Stormy." Remy said, his eyes serious. "He love _you_, p'tite."

"No, he doesn't. He doesn't love me and he doesn't love Ororo. He loves Jean and he always will."

Remy hung his head in defeat. He had tried. There was nothing more that he could do. Logan had hurt her too bad for her to accept what he said as truth. Logan would have to convince her himself.

"I'm tired, Remy." she lied. "Tell Rogue to come and get me in the morning and I'll run with her."

"You sure 'bout dat, chere?" Remy grinned. "Roguey, she run ten miles now. You ready fer dat?"

"I've been running fifteen miles or more every morning for ten years. I can handle whatever Rogue wants to do." Her ringing cell phone stopped his response. He slipped out of the door and let her take care of her business.

Jubilee was awake when Rogue knocked on her door the next morning. Returning to the mansion had disrupted her sleep patterns to the point that she was not able fall asleep. At least she hoped that was what the problem was. She had a bad feeling that just being back was the problem and sleep may be much more difficult to come by for awhile.

Emma cornered her after her run, wanting to talk about Mari. Jubilee had wanted to be with her daughter when Emma tested her but she knew her own abilities would interfere with the test. Since Emma was looking for her, she guessed the test was completed.

"She is a mid level telepath and it appears that she may, in time, develop something similar to your own powers." Emma told her after she had showered and changed. "She also has a healing factor that is still developing. How efficient is will be has yet to be determined but I doubt it will be as powerful as her fathers'. The good news is that she does not have super human senses nor does she have claws." Emma told her with a smile.

"That's not funny, Emma," Jubilee said crossly. "I don't need you to spread rumors about her in the school. It's bad enough that I have no choice but come back. I don't need every mutant in the mansion talking about her."

"She's going to be talked about, Jubilation." Emma said kindly. "She's the first child of a former X-Man to come to the school. People are bound to talk. And people are going to talk about what happened when you left. I've talked to the teams and asked them to not say anything to the students or to Logan but you're not going to be able to stop the rumors."

"I know that," Jubilee said sourly. "I used to live here. I know how everyone talked. It was almost as if generating rumors was a mutant power that we all had in spades but I don't want her to find out from anyone else. I'll tell her, but I need to talk with Wolvie first."

"Logan will probably not be back for some...," Emma stopped suddenly and her eyes glazed over. She shook her head to clear it and looked at Jubilee. "You need to go to Mari. Something's wrong."

Jubilee ran through the mansion following Emma's mental map. The building had been destroyed twice since she left and nothing familiar remained. The entire building was unfamiliar to her.

She found Mari in her room, vomiting into a trashcan. Allyson Green was holding Mari's silky black hair away from her face and patting her shoulder, a look of distaste on her face.

"Mari?" Jubilee said as she replaced the disgusted teen. "What's wrong?"

Mari pointed to her head before bending over the can again to heave the remainder of her breakfast.

Jubilee looked over her shoulder to see Hank rush into the room, his doctor bag in hand.

"Telepathic migraine," she told Hank. "She's been having them almost daily for a month."

"Ah," Hank said. "A most uncomfortable situation for young Mari." He knelt down in front of the suffering girl and placed a cool hand against her forehead. "Mari, I'm going to give you an injection to settle your stomach and ease your pain. It may sting a bit but it will help you feel better in a few minutes."

He opened his bag and withdrew a syringe and two vials. "Emma, she will need a shielded room until she is able to shield herself." he told the headmistress as he drew up a dose from each vial.

"I don't like to baby a new telepath," Emma protested. "They develop their shields faster if they are in great need."

"And if she fails to thrive, physically, due to the migraines?" he asked. "She is already underweight, Emma. She needs to be able to keep nourishment down or she won't have the strength to build shields." He swabbed Mari's arm and injected the drugs into her. "Hopefully, your healing factor won't eliminate the medicine before it does its job." He gave Mari's knee a gentle pat and stood.

"A shielded room, Emma. Doctor's orders." he told her firmly.

After the move to a new room, Mari began to feel better. She was mortified that her illness was the talk of the school for a day and took it out on her mother. Their loud arguments rang through the halls.

Jubilee did not know what to do. Her relationship with Mari seemed to be getting worse every day. She did not know how to handle her anymore. The worse part was she had to return to Los Angeles at the end of the week.

"This trip couldn't come at a worst time," she told Scott as he drove her to the airport to catch her flight back to California. "Mari and I are having real problems. If I didn't have to go, I wouldn't."

"Maybe she needs this time apart from you to realize how good she has it."

"What do you mean?"

"She's one of the very few mutants in the school who has a parent interested enough in them to come and check us out. The vast majority can't go home again no matter what."

"Well, yeah," she said slowly. She had not thought of that before.

"Give her time, Jubilee. She's a teenager. She has to test the boundaries. It's part of being a teenager."

"But she's only eleven!" Jubilee protested.

"It doesn't matter. She's going through puberty and her powers are giving her trouble. She just needs some time."

"How much time?" Jubilee cried.

"As long as she needs. She's developing her powers and her personality at the same time. Puberty is never fun for the parents or the kid. With a mutant, it's even worse."

"I don't remember my adolescence being this bad."

"No," he agreed. "Yours was worse."

"Thanks," she harrumphed.

"Well, you have to admit, you had a strange adolescence. You spent over a year tromping all over the globe with Logan only to come home to fight sententials, the FOH, Magneto. Your teenage years were anything but normal."

She did not have a comeback for that. She knew her childhood was not normal by any definition.

"Let us work with her." Scott insisted. "We may be able to bring about changes that you can't."

"How can you help her when I can't? I'm her mother."

"It's because you're her mother that we can help her. She thinks you're totally clueless right now. We're an unknown to her. She's going to give us the benefit of the doubt before she decides we're stupid, too. We'll try to get as much information into her before we have our lobotomy."

She was quiet until he turned into the entrance to the airport.

"Scott, would I be welcomed back to the team?" she asked.

"I'd need to evaluate your powers and see if I can fit you into a team," he said carefully. "If it's been a few years since you've used them, you may be a little rusty."

"No promises?"

"No," he said. "Look, Jubilee. If you want to come back to the mansion, you know you'll be welcome. Bobby can always use help teaching the math classes. He's so busy with teaching that he had to give up his practice."

"How do you know if I can teach math?"

"I saw your portfolio. I know what it was when you left and I know what it is now. Your net worth has more than tripled in the past ten years. You're worth more than Emma now. You can't do that unless you know math."

"Busted." she said, chagrined. "I usually come across as an airhead."

"I knew you weren't an airhead from the moment we met." He stopped the car in front of the terminal and turned to her. "Come home, Jubilee. We love you. We always have and always will, no matter what has happened."

She felt the tears gather behind her eyes. "Please don't make me cry," she begged.

"Think about it. I promise you won't regret it."

"What about Logan?"

"He's gone more than he's home. Storm says he comes home so she won't forget him."

"Does she love him, Scott?"

"I'm not sure. She seems to be fine with his absences where you wouldn't be. He doesn't love her, I'm sure of that."

"How can you tell?"

"I've spent most of my adult life in love. I can see it very well in other men. Logan doesn't love Ororo."

"He's never been very open with his emotions, Scott"

"I've known the man longer than you have," Scott reminded her. "I've seen him in a rage, in love and in lust. I think he sleeps with her because he's a man with a mans' needs. He likes and respects her but he doesn't love her."

"What about Jean?"

"She's dead, Jubilee. His memories of her are more fantasies than true memories."

"How do I compete with a fantasy?" she said so softly that Scott had to strain to hear. He did not miss what followed. "That's why I left. I can't compete with her now. She's dead and I can't prove to him that I can be what he needs and not her. I can't go through that again. It almost killed me the first time."

"Emma and I will protect you."

"You can't protect me if I fall in love with him again," she whispered.

"Jubilee," he said, lifting her chin with a finger, "don't let him make you leave your daughter when she needs you the most. This may be the last chance you have to forge a strong bond with her. If you leave her here and never visit, she'll feel you abandoned her. You've had lots of experience in that and I'm sure you don't want Mari to go through it too."

She nodded slowly. "I'll think about it," she promised as she opened the door and left the car.


	4. Introductions

Introductions

It was a scent he could not forget no matter how he tried: sweet wild flowers and gun powder. It was Jubilee's scent. His heart began to race. God, he wanted to see her. Just look at her and smell her. He did not need to touch her, just be in the same room with her.

"Logan?" he heard Ororo call. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, 'Ro." he told her, distracted. "She's here."

"She left this morning," Ororo told him. "She went back to Los Angeles to take care of some business."

"So she's comin' back?" he asked hopefully.

"I do not know," she admitted. "She did not share her plans with me."

He sighed in frustration. He had tried to get back early. He knew she was coming home and when his contact in Los Angeles told him she had disappeared from her office, he knew her time had come. He rode for two days straight, trying to get back before she could leave again.

"I'm gonna take a shower," he said dejectedly.

"Before you go, Logan there is someone you should meet."

"I'm tired 'Ro," he told her shortly.

"You will want to meet her, trust me." Ororo grabbed his hand and dragged him to the student dorms. She stopped before a shielded room and turned to him.

"I want you to promise me that you will say nothing to this child that will change her life."

"Like what?" he demanded.

"Just promise me."

"Oh, fer..."

"Please, Logan. I need you to promise me that you will say nothing to this child that will upset her."

"Alright, 'Ro. I won't say anythin' to hurt the kid." She nodded, satisfied.

Tapping lightly on the door, she called, "Mari, I would like you to meet someone."

The door opened and Logan felt his world tilt.

"Jubilee?" he whispered. No, it could not be. Jubilee was a grown woman. This was a child near the same age Jubilee was when he first met her.

"That's my mom," the vision said. "I'm Mari."

"I will leave you two to get acquainted," Ororo said as she walked back down the hall. "Remember what you promised, Logan." He nodded absently.

"Hi." said Mari.

"Hi," he whispered. "Yer mom is Jubilation Lee?"

"Um, yeah." she said, confused. "You want to come in?"

"Yeah."

She stepped aside and waved him into her room. Logan took a discrete sniff as he passed her and froze, stunned.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he lied, continuing across the room. "What's yer name?"

"Mari Lee."

"Is that short for somethin'?" he asked, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Mariko."

His eyes closed and he took several calming breaths. When he opened his eyes, she was still there; still looking like his best friend, the woman who haunted his dreams.

"I knew yer mom when she was yer age. Ya look just like her."

"Everyone says the same thing." she said with a grimace. "I don't see it myself."

"Ya do," he insisted. "Are yer powers like hers?"

"Nah," she said. "I'm a telepath and I have a healing factor."

"A healin' factor, huh?" he smiled weakly.

"Yeah." she said. "I would probably still be in LA but I fell on the playground and cut my head. It healed in under an hour and Mom freaked. She was sure someone said something about it and now she thinks some government dweeb is going to try and grab me."

"She's right."

"She's spazed out. The only problem I was having was the headaches. I could have learned to shield on my own but she went all freaky on me and moved me here."

"She had a good reason. The government's been known ta grab mutants off the street and run experiments on 'em. 'Specially mutants with healin' factors."

"Maybe," she shrugged, "but I wish she'd tell me why she's doing things before she goes all spacey on me. I didn't even get to tell my friends where I was going."

"Safer fer 'em not ta know where ya are."

Her head tilted in a posture that mimicked her mother. Logan swallowed the lump in his throat.

"You're kinda paranoid, you know," she remarked.

"Born that way,"

"I know you!" she said excitedly. "You're Mom's Wolvie! She always said you were the most paranoid person she knew."

"That's me."

"She also said you were usually right to be so paranoid."

"Usually, yeah."

"Where have you been? Mom said you two had a fight and she left. I kinda figured you'd come and see her a long time ago."

"She needed time to decide if she wanted ta be my friend anymore."

"But twelve years?"

"I guess so. If I'd a gone ta her, she'd think I was interferin' in her life and she'd a never forgiven me."

"Must have been a bad fight."

"It was."

Mari knew better that to ask an adult about an argument. They would only lie about it.

"I was just meditating to set my shield so I can go and eat. You wanna come with me?"

"You go ahead, darlin'. I need ta talk ta Cyke first."

Logan left the room with her and watched as she walked down the hall to the stairs. 'I know ya were mad at me, Jubes. Ya had a damn good reason ta be. But, flamin' hell, girl! What did I do ta deserve ya keepin' _this_ a secret from me?'

His thoughts were a whirl of pain and undirected anger. He wanted to kill someone. He wanted to cry. He wanted to hug Mari and keep her close. He wanted to yell and scream at his own stupidity. He wanted most of all to find Jubilee and demand answers.

When he next became aware of his surroundings, he was standing outside the headmaster's office, his claws out and his breathing hard. He calmed himself, retracted his claws and banged on the door.

"Come in, Logan," Scott called from inside.

The door slammed closed behind him and he faced the only person in the mansion who knew where Jubilee had been for the past twelve years.

"I would hazard a guess and say you've met Mari." Scott said with a sigh. "Sit down, Logan. I'll tell you what I know."

"Why didn't ya tell me?" Logan growled as he sat in the chair before the desk.

"I promised Jubilee I wouldn't. She never wanted you to find out like this. She wanted to tell you herself."

"She's my daughter! I have the right ta know about her!"

"What would you have done?"

"I woulda gone ta her. She needed me."

"No, she didn't. She would have been furious with both of us. I needed to keep her trust, Logan. It was the only way to keep the line open. I couldn't afford to alienate her and have her close us off completely."

"I coulda brought her back. She coulda been hurt." he argued.

"If you had forced her, you would have lost her forever. Is that what you wanted? I had hoped you loved her enough to let her decide for herself. Look at it from her point of view. Your own behavior made her think you didn't love her. If you had forced her to come home, you would have proven it to her."

His thoughts went back to that awful day when she left him. "Oh, God," he groaned. "Does she hate me?"

"I don't think she_ hates_ you but I know she thinks you still love Jean."

"I loved her," he admitted, "but not like you did. I don't think anyone could love her as much as you did." Logan stared at his hands, rubbing his knuckles. "I want what you and Jean had," he admitted.

"With Jubilee?" Logan nodded.

"I love her, Cyke. Even after all these years, just hearin' her name makes my heart jump."

"She isn't going to accept you back just like that." Scott punctuated his comment with a snap of his fingers. "You have some work ahead of you convincing her that you love her. She isn't going to believe you at first."

"She's worth it."

"Yes, she is." Scott rose and came around his desk. "By the way. How did you know about Mari? She's not usually out of her room this time of day."

"'Ro took me ta her room."

"Ororo, huh? She shouldn't have done that." he mumbled "That's another thing you have to take care of and you'd better do it now. Jubilee knows you've been sleeping with her."

"'Roro knows I don't love her. I told her from the beginning that I love Jubilee."

"That doesn't mean that she doesn't love you. You have to talk with her. It's not fair to her to keep her hoping you'll stay with her."

"I'll talk ta her," Logan promised. "I owe her that much."

He rose from the chair and walked to the door.

"What are you going to do about Mari?" Scott asked before he opened the door.

"Get ta know her as Logan, first." he told him. "I'll get ta know her as her father later."

"She won't be in any of your classes," Scott informed him. "How are you going to arrange to bump into her without making her suspicious?"

"She's the daughter of my best friend. It won't look strange fer me ta take her under my wing like I did her mom." He moved his hand to the doorknob. "I can't pass up this chance, Cyke. Jubilee may not believe me when I say I love her but Mari is my flesh and blood. She's a part of me and she may be the only part of Jubilee I'll ever have. Ya understand what I'm sayin'?"

For the millionth time since she died, Scott regretted that he and Jean never had children. He had nothing left of her now.

"I understand, Logan," he whispered. "Better than you know."

Logan looked over his shoulder at his leader. He could almost taste the younger man's pain.

"Yeah," he mused. "I guess ya do."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Logan stood at the bottom of the attic stairs working up his courage to talk to the beautiful weather goddess. He hated this. He usually did not break it off with a woman. Most of the time, he just never came back. Ororo deserved more than that. She had been a friend to him for many years and he wanted to keep her friendship.

"'Roro?" he called from the door. "Are ya decent?"

"Come in, Logan." she called.

He climbed the steps to her attic loft, his heart heavy.

She was sitting at her desk writing in her journal. He had to admit to himself, she was stunning. She was dressed in an ice blue silk robe that contrasted sharply with her dark skin. Her snow white hair was unbound and flowing down her back.

"Why'd ya do it, 'Ro?" he asked.

"Do what?" she asked innocently.

"Take me ta meet Mari," he elaborated. "Cyke said Jubes didn't want me ta meet her yet."

"It's your right." she said.

"My right or were ya hopin' ta make me angry at Jubilee? Were ya hopin' that I'd be so angry with her that I'd stay with you?"

Her skin was too dark to show a blush but Logan could smell her shame.

"I told ya from the start that I loved her. Why'd ya try a stunt like that?"

"You told her that you loved Jean."

"And ya thought that I'd stop lovin' her like I did Jean?" he demanded. "Fer yer information, I never stopped lovin' Jean. I just didn't love her like that and when I look back, I never did. Jubilee is different. I love her, 'Ro. She's my life and my heart."

"But Mari..."

"Mariko is proof of that love."

"But she kept her from you."

"She was right ta keep her away from me. I still have enemies that'll try and get ta her. She kept her safe fer eleven years but now, it's my turn. Now that she has a healin' factor developin', I need ta help her and protect her. Jubilee knew that. That's why she's here now."

"She's here now so Jubilee can manipulate you." Storm exploded, exasperated with him.

Logan's eyes darkened with anger. He flew across the room and knocked Storm out of her chair, catching her by the throat. He slammed her hard against the wall and bared his teeth. Storm's eyes immediately flashed white.

"Don't try it," he snarled. "I'll snap yer neck before ya can call the lightning down."

Storm's eyes widened in fear and the white glow faded.

"Yer gonna treat Mari like any other student in yer class. And if I hear that you've done or said anythin' ta her or ta Jubilee that hurts 'em, I'll make ya regret it."

"I would never do anything to hurt Mari. She's a child and innocent in all this but I can't give you up without a fight."

He released her and stepped away. "Ya never had me, 'Ro. We were what the kids call 'friends with benefits'. There wasn't anythin' more ta it."

Ororo leaned against the wall, rubbing her throat. "What about me?" she asked hoarsely. "I love you."

"No, ya don't. Ya want me but I've never smelled love on ya."

"How can you say that?" she demanded.

"Ya love Forge and ya always will." he told her gently. "I was just a replacement fer him, 'Ro, cause ya don't want to choose between Forge and the team."

Ororo lowered herself onto the chair, stunned. She was not aware that he knew why she had backed away from Forge.

"I love ya as a friend but Jubes is my future if she'll have me." he said as he knelt in front of her. "Forge is yers. Don't give up on him, 'Ro. Ya deserve ta be loved. I want ya ta be happy but ya won't be with me."

He rose and walked toward the door.

"Why do you care?" Ororo asked before he could leave.

"Believe it or not, I care about ya. Yer a good friend and ya deserve all the love ya can get. I wish it coulda been me but it ain't." He turned and looked at the beautiful woman. "I love her, 'Ro. She may not love me anymore but that doesn't change how I feel about her. I was stupid enough ta hurt her twelve years ago and if it takes the rest of my life, I'm gonna make it up ta her."

"What about Mari?"

"That's a different matter entirely. If everyone will keep their mouths shut, I'll make my own way into her life. She don't need ta know I'm her father right away. Jubes needs ta be the one ta tell her but I'm gonna get ta know her in the mean time."

"Jubilee will not like it." she warned him.

"Maybe," he agreed. "Maybe not."

She watched him leave with a lump in her chest. She was not sure he was right. She cared for Forge enough to give herself to him at a point in her life when she had no business getting involved with anyone. She quickly fell in love with him but when he wanted to take their relationship to a higher level, she panicked. He had asked her to marry but left before she could give him her answer. Even now, she did not know what she would have said to him.

Her relationship with Logan was different. She knew in her heart that if he were to ask, she would say yes. She enjoyed his company. He had a subtle sense of humor that complimented hers. In contrast to his gruff demeanor, he was kind and gentle with her. Sex with him was not as good as it was with Forge but she attributed that to her age. She was no longer a young woman with a young woman's libido. It was expected that sex would no longer be important to a relationship.

Keeping him was going to be a battle.


	5. Logan and Mari

Logan and Mari

"Hey."

The loud call from the garage door would have startled anyone else. Logan's animal senses made him very difficult to surprise. He had been aware of Mari's movements for some time before she entered the garage and yelled. He sat amid the scattered parts that made up the engine for his motorcycle. His beloved 'scoot' had developed an annoying knock that he was determined to diagnose before it did damage.

"Hey, yerself." he answered. "Don't ya have homework?"

"Yeah, but I'm having some trouble." she told him as she leaned against Scott's Miata. "You any good at math?"

He looked around the garage as if to assure himself they were alone. "I'll help ya, but if ya tell anyone I know this stuff, I'll hafta kill ya."

She grinned at him and winked. "You have an image to uphold."

He gave her a small smile. "Let me finish up here and get cleaned up. I'll met ya by the old oak tree down by the lake."

"Do I need to stop in the kitchen and get a six pack? Mom always said you were easier to deal with if you had some beer."

"She did, huh?" he growled.

She looked into his eyes, totally unafraid of his growly demeanor.

"Well, do I?"

She had his eyes, he noticed. They were sky blue, just like his. Jubilee had sapphire blue eyes that glowed when she used her powers. His were as blue as a summer sky that turned icy when he was angry.

"Wolvie?"

"Yeah?"

"The beer?"

"Oh, right." His mind wandered back to the girl before him. "I'll get the beer. You head on down ta the lake."

"'K. Bring me a Coke, will ya?"

"Sure." He watched as she rounded the corner and headed toward the lake. She was not so much like Jubilee after all. Jubilee never had the nerve to ask Logan for help with her homework. She just assumed that he would not or could not help her. Mari had no qualms about asking for help when she needed it.

There were other differences he had noticed in the past week. She had an awful temper and tended to strike out without thinking. Jubilee rarely did that. When Jubilee was wronged, she tended to wait for her revenge and strike when they least expected. Mari would fly off the handle immediately and apologize later.

She had her mother's wry sense of humor with a touch of his evil enjoyment of the foibles of others. She was as much of a people watcher as he was but was shy about joining in when he knew she wanted to. She was much more serious than Jubilee was at her age which concerned him. She did not appear to have the zest for life an eleven year old should have. He had spent the past few days trying to get her to lighten up and play. It had not been working very well.

The problem was that Logan did not know how to play. He had no memories of his own childhood to look back on and make suggestions. In desperation he began to invite Allyson Green to join them when he took Mari out for the day, but the older girl seemed to be uncomfortable with him. He could understand why. He made most of the children uncomfortable. Mari seemed to be the only exception.

Mari had moved back in with Allyson earlier in the week after Emma had pronounced her shields adequate. The two had initially appeared to get along well but he knew better. He could smell the older girl's jealousy every time he came near her. He had discussed the situation with Scott and Emma two days after Mari moved. Emma agreed that Allyson had some issues with Mari but she wanted to allow the girls to work it out on their own. He was not so sure that was a good idea. He knew what teenage girls were capable of.

He found Mari exactly where her mother used to sit and do her homework fifteen years earlier. A feeling of deja-vu washed over him as he watched her viciously erase an answer from the paper on her lap. He could not count the number of times he found her mother in the same pose, struggling with her schoolwork. For the first time in a long time, he felt old.

For the most part, he could ignore the fact that time was passing. Despite the complaints of aches and pains from the other team members, he never felt the years go by. Mostly, this was due to his healing factor's ability to erase the ravages of time from his body. Now that he thought about it, Cyke was beginning to show his age. He had gray around the temples and an arthritic knee. Rogue and Ororo had tiny lines around their eyes. In fact, Emma was the only one of them, other than him, that did not display her age. But then, Emma knew some of the best plastic surgeons in the country.

A thought made him stop in his tracks. Jubilee was thirty now. She would not be the fey woman-child he had known. She was a mother and a businesswoman now. Her life was almost half over now and he had missed the last twelve years. Anger at himself made his eyes turn cold.

"What pissed you off now?" Mari asked him as he lowered himself beside her.

"Wasted years." he answered honestly. "Let's see yer homework."

They worked on the homework for over an hour. In contrast to his barbaric image, Logan was not stupid. He still owned a half share of the Princess Bar in Madripoor and a respectable portfolio of stocks and bonds. He did not administer them himself. He left that to professionals, but he learned early in life not to trust anyone. He went over the books with a fine toothed comb several times a year. He became very good at math in self defense.

History was a passion that he shared with Scott. They frequently swapped books on several different periods in time. Scott was interested in late 19th and early 20th century life and Logan studied older history.

The mansion library had a large collection of history texts, thanks to Xavier's own interests. Most of them, at one time or another, Logan had read. Several of the books had taken up permanent residence in his room. Scott approached him at least once a month to try to convince him to teach history at the school. So far, he had been able to excuse himself from that chore.

His main literary passion was ancient warfare. No one was surprised to find that he was intimately familiar with war and that he admired Alexander was a given. Most were surprised to find out that he studied the ancient Macedonian campaigns like they were today's news. He found much to admire about the small country that nearly destroyed the Roman Empire.

"How'd you get to be so smart?" Mari asked him as they lazed in the sun after finishing her homework.

"Most people think I'm a dumb animal." he said from under his hat.

"Phitt. They just don't listen to you. You come across as the dumb bimbo of the mutant world but I know better. Mom always said that you were one of the smartest people she knew."

"Well," he said, repositioning his hat so he could see her, "I got good at math 'cause I had to. I didn't want ta get ripped off. I don't know when I got so interested in history. Maybe it's 'cause I lived so much of it."

"Some of the others say you're over a hundred years old."

"Could be. I don't remember much before I joined the X-Men."

"What happened?"

"Weapon X. They did a bunch of experiments on me. One of 'em took my memories and replaced 'em with what they wanted me to remember. Most of the things I remember from that time are false."

"Wow! That bites."

"Yeah."

"When did you meet Mom?"

"The team was in Australia tryin' ta make everyone believe we were dead. Bunch of bad ass jerk offs caught me out of the compound one day and grabbed me. They nailed me to a cross and left me ta die. I got myself off and yer mom hid me till I got better. She was about yer age at the time."

"And she stayed with you?"

"She kinda grew on me. I brought her back ta the States and moved her into the mansion. She told me she didn't have a problem hangin' with me but I had ta change my macho attitude."

"How long were you together?"

"She went to Massachusetts when she was about fourteen. I went ta see her a few times but for the most part, I let her alone so she could learn how ta be a kid. She came home when she was eighteen and rejoined the team."

"And the fight?"

"That's between yer mom and me."

She rolled over and sat up. He found himself pinned by her curious gaze. It was very uncomfortable.

"You're the only one here that will even admit there was an argument. Why won't anybody talk about it?"

"They don't want ta hurt yer mom's feelings by talkin' about her behind her back. Jubilee grew up here. Most of us think of her as a daughter or sister."

"Do you?"

"Never did. She was my best friend fer a long time. I like ta think she still is."

Mari thought about that for awhile. Her mother had said the same thing. She wondered if best friends ever got married. The one thing she missed growing up was a father. It was not too late and she liked Logan. He did not try to figure her out. He just accepted her as she was. He was a kid glove disciplinarian who would rather talk to her and find out why she did the things she did. He did not jump to conclusions when she did something outrageous, he asked her why she did it. If he thought she was wrong, he would make her apologize and then assigned a punishment that not only made her think twice about breaking the rules but taught her something about the X-Men.

"She missed you." Mari told him. "She has nightmares. Sometimes, she wakes me up when she screams. I stayed awake one night and listened to her. She kept calling out for you to help her. What happened to her that makes her scream at night?"

Logan debated how much to tell her. Her mother's nightmares had obviously frightened Mari but the truth could be worse. How could he tell his own daughter that her mother was tortured when she was not much older than Mari was now?

"I think ya need ta get the story from yer mom."

"I've asked but she won't tell me." Mari complained. "She thinks I'm not old enough or something."

"Darlin',_ I_ ain't old enough and I know what happened." Logan said, grimly. "If she don't want ya ta know, that's her right. Stop pushin' and let her decide when yer ready ta know the whole story."

"God, Wolvie!" she gasped. "Was it that bad?"

"Yeah, Mari. It was bad. Let yer mom be the one ta tell ya. It's her story."

Logan was dying to ask a question but he had to make sure it did not lead to questions on her part. He supposed the best way to ask was the round about way.

"Yer mom ever talk about yer dad?"

"No." she sighed. "I asked her about him about a year ago. She started crying and wouldn't say anything. That night, she had a bad nightmare. Makes me think he wasn't very nice. He must have hurt her real bad for it to give her nightmares like that. Did you know him?"

"I thought I did." he murmured.

"Is he why Mom has the bad dreams?"

"Yeah, I guess he is." he said, deep in thought. "Ya better go in fer supper."

He watched as she walked back up the hill back to the house. What she told him rocked his world. He did not know Jubilee was still having the dreams.

He sat under the tree, berating himself for his actions twelve years ago. If he had opened his heart to her when she first asked him, he could have helped her overcome the pain from her past.

He still felt enormously responsible for what happened to her during Operation: Zero Tolerance and when she was kidnapped by the Church of Humanity. He should have kept a better eye on her while she was away from him. His actions after she freed herself from Bastion shamed him even today. He should have insisted that she stayed at the mansion and he should have told Kitty to buck up and get over her break-up with Pete. It was years before he found out that Jubilee had been viciously raped during her captivity.

He vowed to himself that Mari would never know that kind of pain.

They began to spend a great deal of time together when she was not in classes. He found that he had stopped thinking of her as Jubilee's daughter or his daughter and started to think of her as Mari: a smart kid who needed him to help boost her self-confidence.

Slowly, Mari began to make friends. Her best friend appeared to be a boy, two years older than her, named David Parker. The boy grated on Logan's nerves like no one had for several years. He was trying to decide if it was because the kid was pretty or because he showed an interest in his daughter. He finally decided that it did not matter. If the kid did not back away from his little girl, he was going to rip the brats wings off.

Mari finally had enough and confronted him about his attitude the week before her birthday.

"Man, I can see why Mom described you as a platoon of Marines." she snarled at him. "Back off, Wolvie."

"I'm just tryin' ta make sure yer safe," he protested. "Yer mom's my best friend."

"Here? In the mansion? With fifty gazillion telepaths listening in on everyone? Give me a break."

"Yer mom'll kill me if anythin' happens to ya."

"She won't kill you. She likes you too much. Besides, you have a healing factor. You'll heal from what ever she does to you."

"She can make me wish I was dead." he grumbled.

"If you don't stop it, _I'll_ make you wish you were dead." she threatened.

"C'mon, Mari. I just want ta make sure yer safe."

"I am safe, you blockhead. Mom didn't raise a helpless ninny." She stopped in surprise. "I didn't just say 'ninny' did I?"

"Yeah, darlin', ya did. Ya also called me a 'blockhead'. Yer vocabulary is startin' ta fall into the 'One-Eye' zone."

"God." she whined, rubbing her eyes. "I'm turning into a dweeb."

"That's what I'm fer. Ta keep ya from turnin' into a clone of Cyke."

She gave him a sour look. "Very funny. Back to the issue. David is safe. He doesn't like me like that. I'm too just young for that kind of thing, anyway."

"I'm glad ta hear that but how do ya figure he's safe?"

"He's gay."

"Oh." He cleared his throat in embarrassment. "Sorry kid."

"Can I get you a crowbar?"

"Fer what?" he asked, confused.

"To get your foot out of your mouth." she said as she walked back to the house.

He watched her as she walked back to the house for dinner. Damn if she did not have her mother's ability to make him eat his words on a regular basis.

Three days later, a moving van pulled up to the mansion and began to unload. Logan could hardly contain his excitement. Jubilee was moving home for good. He had to stop himself from going to get her several times. He had promised himself that he would not pressure her.

The night before Mari's birthday, Jubilee's little red BMW zoomed up the drive and stopped before the garage. He watched from the roof as Mari ran to greet her mother with a hug. He could hear them chattering.

He did not go down to see her yet. He needed to do this right. There was too much at stake and failure could cost him everything.


	6. Fight! Fight!

Fight! Fight!

The difference in Mari was apparent to Jubilee immediately. She had lost the gaunt, haunted look she had when she arrived at the mansion. She was two inches taller and fifteen pounds heavier. Her skin glowed with good health now.

"You look like you feel better." she remarked "Any more headaches?"

"A few," admitted Mari, "but the ones I have aren't as bad now. Ms. Frost is teaching me to apply a psychic balm to them. How's work?"

"I sold the brokerage and the house." Jubilee told her. "The house was just too empty without you."

"Is that why you moved all our stuff here? You missed me?"

"Yeah."

"What are you going to do? I mean, you don't have a license in New York."

"I'll find something. I don't need to work."

"You? Without something to keep you busy? Oh no! You'll be on me all the time!"

"I promise to keep out of your way, Mari. I didn't move back here to make you uncomfortable or get in your way."

"Are you going to stay at the mansion?" Mari asked in dread.

"Only until I can find a house."

She exhaled in relief. "Whew! I thought I'd have you here breathing down my neck. I already have Wolvie doing that. I don't need both of you doing it."

"Wolvie?" Jubilee asked in a small voice.

"Yeah." Mari confirmed. "He's just as bad as you said he was. Do you know he checks out all my friends? It's like he doesn't trust anyone."

"You've been spending time with him?"

"Yeah," she said as she led her mother to a guest room. "He's been helping me with my homework almost every night. Did you know he's real good with math?

Mari led her to a large, well decorated guest room in the wing opposite from the students. It was near the room she had stayed in when she had brought Mari to the mansion three months before. Jubilee recognized Emma's hand in decorating the room. The White Queen always had exquisite taste in furniture.

"Since when do you have problems with math?" Jubilee asked as she opened her suitcase.

"Mr. Summers put me in Algebra 2. He said Algebra 1 would be too easy for me." she said as she hopped on the bed. "From what I've seen in Algebra 2, he's right."

"And Wolvie knows Algebra?" Jubilee said doubtfully.

"Sure." Mari said with a shrug. "He's a lot smarter than most people give him credit for. Mr. Summers wants him to teach history."

"I live in a school, Jubes." Logan said from the door. "Can't help but learn somethin'."

He had been watching her as she talked to Mari. God! She had grown up so well. Gone were the angles and teenage baby rolls. She now had the curves of a mature woman. She had grown her hair out and now it was cut in becoming layers, falling just below her shoulders. He wondered if it was still as silky as it was when she was a child. Her scent filled his head and his body reacted. He wanted to go over to her and gather her into his arms but he did not dare. If he touched her, his baser instincts would take over.

"Wolvie?" Jubilee breathed.

"Welcome home, darlin'." he said softly.

"See?" Mari said to Logan. "I told you she'd come."

"You were right, kiddo." he said as he ruffled her hair. "I guess ya do know yer mom better than I do."

"Did you doubt me Wolvie?" Jubilee asked in a hurt voice.

"I wasn't sure ya'd come knowin' I was here." he said. "Mari? Can ya leave us alone? I need ta talk to yer mom."

"But she just got here!" she objected.

"I know, darlin' but tomorrow's yer birthday and we need ta make plans."

"Well, don't make any big plans for me." she instructed them as she headed for the door. "I know for a fact that Mr. Summers has planned a surprise party."

"And how do ya know that?" he demanded.

She tapped her head and smiled. "Telepath, ya know."

"She has no manners." Jubilee complained as the door closed behind her daughter.

"It's all a little new ta her." Logan explained. "She hasn't gotten the idea that people are private and she needs ta ask before she looks."

"I'm going to have to talk to her." Jubilee said as she went back to her unpacking.

"Yeah." he agreed. "Listen, Jubes. I didn't ask Mari ta leave ta talk about her buttin' in on other people's minds."

Jubilee slowly closed the suitcase and turned to sit on the bed. If she could have found a way to get out of this, she would but she owed him an explanation.

"What do you want to talk about?" she asked, wishing her mouth hadn't suddenly gone so dry. She was lying; she knew what he wanted to talk about. It was a conversation ... no, a confrontation ... that had waited twelve years to happen and twelve years was a long time to let anger simmer. He had to be furious with her, though she knew he would never harm her.

"Why didn't ya tell me?" he asked quietly.

She gathered her thoughts as his question sunk in to her mind. He did not seem all that angry with her. Her heart rose at the thought. Maybe it would not be so bad.

"How did you know? Did Scott tell you?"

"No, Cyke kept his word." he said as he sat beside her on the bed. "She don't look like me, thank God, but she has my eyes and, more importantly, she has my scent."

A sharp intake of breath greeted his words.

"How close?" she whispered.

"Almost exactly the same." he told her. "Anyone with a nose would know she's mine."

Color fled from her face and she began to shake,

'Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God!' she thought, her hands coming up to cover her mouth. She did not realize she had said it aloud until Logan moved close to her, ready to catch her if she fainted.

"Jubes?" He could see her distress.

"I sold a house to Creed two years ago." she whispered, horrified, her face as white as a sheet.

"Where?" he demanded.

"Hollywood Hills." she told him. "God, Wolvie! He had to have smelled her on me. He knows she's yours."

"Why in the hell did ya sell him a house in the first place?" he demanded. "Goddammit, Jubes! How could ya be so stupid?"

She could not that that statement pass. No one told her how to do business. Not even Logan. "I'll sell a house to whoever has the money to buy it." she yelled, her temper overcoming her fear. "You have no right to tell me how to do business. And don't call me stupid."

"Ya put Mari in danger." he snarled. "Don't ya ever think?"

"How was I supposed to know she has your scent? I don't have that good of a nose."

"Ya shoulda called and told me ya saw him." he yelled. "I coulda taken care of him then. Now I gotta go and find him before he finds her."

"He didn't do anything, Wolverine." she yelled back. "He actually was a perfect gentleman the whole time."

"Bull!" he snorted. "If he opened his mouth, he was lyin'."

By this time, they were standing nose to nose, yelling at each other. Their argument did not go unnoticed by the other occupants of the mansion. Scott quickly dispersed the crowd that had gathered outside of Jubilee's room and tapped on the door.

There was no answer, not that he expected one. The two mutants were yelling so loud that nothing less than a bomb could have been heard in the room. He opened the door and stepped in, careful not to draw the attention of either occupant.

He found a spot in the room where he could dive for cover if necessary and called out to them.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Cut it out!"

Logan had been aware when Scott opened the door but Jubilee jumped and spun on her heel, ready to paff the intruder.

"Whoa!" he yelled. "It's only me."

"Sorry, Scott." she apologized as she relaxed her stance. "I didn't hear you come in."

"What are you two arguing about?"

"Wolvie's trying to tell me how to do business." Jubilee complained.

"She sold a house ta Creed." Logan growled. "He knows about Mari."

"Sabretooth knows about Mari?" Scott goggled. "How did he find out? Who told him?"

"He didn't need ta be told." Logan told him. "Mari has my scent. He knew the second he met Jubes in LA. I'm willin' ta bet he followed ya fer weeks, just ta see if I'd show up." he told her.

"But he didn't do anything!" Jubilee pointed out. "I never saw him again after we closed."

"That's 'cause I never showed up." He turned to Scott. "He probably knows she's here. I need ta go and find him and make sure he leaves Mari alone."

"So you're going to desert her, just like you did me." Jubilee said with a small sob of pain, turning her back on them. "Like mother, like daughter. I guess you'll never change."

"Jubes ..." he started.

"No!" she interrupted. "I don't want to hear it. Go ahead and leave. At least Mari will have me to fall back on after you're gone."

"But Jubes," he started again.

"Get out, Wolverine." she ordered without turning.

"Jubes." he said. He needed her to understand. He could not let Sabretooth get to Mari.

"Get out!" she yelled turning to face him.

His head jerked back at the hate he saw in her eyes. Jubilee had been angry at him numerous times but he had never seen her look at him with hate in her eyes before.

"God, Jubes." he whispered in shock.

"Get out before I say something we'll both regret." she said coldly.

"Maybe we'd better leave." Scott said to him. He could see the pain on the older man's face. Jubilee's words were tearing a hole in his heart. He grabbed Logan by the arm and pulled him from the room.

Logan made no move to resist. He knew he had screwed up but he did not know how to rectify the situation. Jubilee was furious with him and it was his fault. There was not a damned thing he could do about it because he just did not know how to fix it. He let Scott pull him away from her room to the den at the end of the hall. Scott chased the students from the room as Logan threw himself onto the sofa in disgust.

"Why can't I keep my flippin' mouth shut?" he asked Scott. "I know better than ta say things like that ta her so why do I do it? Am I such a glutton fer punishment that I have ta make her mad at me?"

"You didn't just make her mad, Logan," Scott informed him, "you hit a nerve a mile wide. If you leave now, she'll never forgive you."

"What can I do?" Logan demanded as Scott lowered himself beside him. "I can't ignore Creed. It's only a matter of time before he goes after Mari."

"I know that but if you stay here, you'll have the advantage of numbers. Mari's safer here than anywhere else in the world. Jubilee knew that. That's why she brought her here. You, alone, are formidable. You, along with the X-Men, are unbeatable. We won't let your daughter get hurt, Logan. You have my word on that."

He looked at his leader closely. He looked and smelled sincere.

"Stay, huh?"

"Let the walking carpet come to you. You'll have home field advantage and you'll get to choose where you fight. It's been awhile since he's attacked the mansion. We have a few unpleasant surprises in store for him. Come on, Logan, get past that protective instinct and think. You're one of the best strategists in the world, and you study history. If you have to fight a battle and you can see it coming, make a stand in territory you know well and can use to your advantage."

He thought about it for a moment. He never involved the X-Men when he fought Creed. Sabertoothhad beena thorn in his side for as long as he could remember. It had become an exercise in futility trying to kill the larger mutant but if he tried to get to his daughter, he did not care what the others would say: Creed was going to die if he had to sacrifice his own life to do it.

"I'll stay." he agreed. "But I want the others ta know what's going on."

"Jubilee has to tell Mari first. It's not fair that everyone know but her."

"Ya don't need ta tell 'em, everything. Just tell 'em that he's after Mari 'cause she's Jubilee's daughter. They don't need ta know the rest until Jubes is ready ta tell 'em."

"They're going to figure it out eventually, Logan. The more time she spends with you, the more likely it will become that someone will make the connection."

"The team probably already knows." Logan said. "As long as some mouthy student doesn't find out, we're okay."

Scott stood and stretched. "I'll go see what I can do to calm her down some. It's best you don't see her for a few hours. Give her time to cool off before you tell her you changed your mind about leaving."

"Thanks, Cyke."

He watched as Scott left the room and closed the door behind him. His thoughts turned to the woman he loved. She had changed over the years. Her breasts were fuller, her hips rounder. Her eyes held a maturity that had been absent at eighteen. The biggest changes were not visible. She was a self assured woman now, unafraid to take what she wanted and unafraid to tell people to get out of her way.

How he had missed her. As soon as he saw her in the room, he wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her until she forgave him. The first glimpse and he was back in his room, twelve years before, Jubilee climbing onto him to sheath him in her body. He could still hear the low moan she gave as she sank down on him. It was the last time they made love and probably when Mari was conceived.

He shook his head to clear the image. He wished he could clear her scent from his head as easily. It was driving him to distraction.

He knew he had no right to talk to her like she was still his but he had to consider Mari. Jubilee could take care of Creed if she was forced to but Mari had no defenses against the murderous feral. Jubilee could not be with their daughter twenty-four hours a day so he would have to be responsible for the girls' protection.

He failed to see the irony of the situation. He had provided the same service for Jubilee at the same age.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Jubilee?" Scott called as he knocked on the guest room door.

When she opened the door, he could see that she was still angry.

"He knows he screwed up." he told her as she let him into the room.

"What gives him the right to try and tell me how to run my business?" Jubilee demanded.

"Actually, if he hadn't, I would have." Scott said, truthfully. "If it weren't for Mari, I'd leave it alone but you put her in a dangerous situation. You should have called me when he first came to you."

"So you're going to start in on me now?" she yelled. "I'll run my business how I see fit. I don't need you or Logan telling me how to sell houses."

"It's not the sale we have a problem with, Jubilee. It's Creed. I wouldn't object if you had sold a house to Magneto but Creed's tracking skills rival Logan's. Logan's right. He knows about Mari and he knows where she is. It's only a matter of time before he tries to get her. If you had called me when he first approached you, we could have taken care of it then. Now, we're going to have to stay on alert until we catch him."

"That's going to include me?" she asked.

"Most especially you." he informed her. "I'll expect you in the Danger Room at 6:00 AM for your evaluation. Full team training will be at 10:00. Don't be late."

He quickly left before she could start yelling.


	7. The Danger Room

The Danger Room

Logan caught her before she could enter the Danger Room for her evaluation the next morning. Her temper had cooled considerably by then and she was willing to listen to him. She was still angry with Scott for agreeing with Logan but she was strangely less angry with Logan than with Scott.

"I'm sorry, darlin'." he apologized. "I don't have the right ta tell ya how ta run yer business. The only excuse I can give ya is that I was afraid fer Mari."

"Yeah, well," she said, embarrassed, "Scott read me the riot act, too. He agrees with you."

"Scooter yelled at ya?" he growled. Summers had no right to yell at his woman.

"He didn't exactly yell." Jubilee fidgeted, a habit she had when she was embarrassed about something. Some things never change. "He did that thing he does when he's disappointed in you. You know, Wolvie. He makes you feel about six inches tall."

"Well, since I don't try ta please him, he don't pull that on me."

"Yeah." she agreed. "I guess it wouldn't work very well on you. You don't care what people think about you."

"Only you, darlin'." he said, his eyes boring into hers.

"Wolvie?" she asked, looking into his eyes. Something was there that had been absent twelve years before but she could not place exactly what that something was.

"Why don't ya call me Logan anymore?" he asked her in a gravely voice.

"We're not lovers anymore." she told him. "It doesn't seem right to call you by your name now."

He continued to look at her, not saying anything. She could not look away. She was like a deer caught in the headlights. Unconsciously, she took a step closer to him. Then another. And another, until she was standing close enough to him to touch.

His hand came up and cupped her face. "I missed ya so much." he whispered.

"I missed you, too." she replied softly, her heart aching. He stepped closer to her, deliberately inside her personal space, and she relished the feel, treasured the feel of his closeness. It had been far too long since the last time they had touched.

His fingers gently pulled her toward him, his mouth descending. She jerked back as her mind caught on to what he was doing.

"No, Wolvie." she said firmly, stepping back from his embrace. She could not let him kiss her. If she did, she would never be able to stop. "I'm not falling for that again."

His hand dropped to his side as he stepped back.

"Alright, darlin'." he said. "I'll wait. Just get used to the fact that I ain't ready ta give up on us."

"There is no 'us', Wolvie. There's you and Jean. I was just a distraction."

The door to the Danger Room opened with a groan as she keyed in her code.

"I have to go." she said.

He let her leave, turning instead toward the control room. He pushed open the door and scanned the room silently for an empty chair. He wanted to see if she was as strong as Emma had predicted. At thirty, she should be at full power now.

"Morning, Logan." Scott said from his seat at the control panel. "I didn't think you'd make it. You had a very late night."

He grunted and took a seat at the back-up panel, not saying a ward. He was still angry that Scott had dared to scold his woman.

"Okay, Jubilee." Scott said over the intercom. "The objective is to protect the innocents. This is not a slash and burn. Try not to kill anyone but don't let your innocent get hurt."

"Where's the innocent?" she asked.

"You'll have to figure that out for yourself." he told her. "Rogue will be in the safe zone so if you get into trouble, she'll pull you out."

"Hey, sugah." Rogue waved from the corner of the room.

Jubilee nodded at her in acknowledgment. "Okay. So I have to figure out who's the victim and protect him or her." she stated. "Can I hurt the others?"

"Hurt but not kill." Scott told her.

"Gotcha." She pulled her mask down and fluffed her hair over the band.

"Is that fair?" Logan asked after Scott flipped off the intercom. "I can smell who's the target and Emma can pull it from their minds but how is Jubes gonna figure it out?"

"You don't give her enough credit, Logan." Scott said as he made an adjustment to the program. "Her latent telepathy gives her a way of discovering who is the innocent and who's not. All she needs to do is open her mind."

"Did ya tell her that?" Logan demanded. "She ain't trained with us fer a long time. She doesn't know about the new programs."

"She's going to find out." Scott said. "Don't worry, Logan. The safeties are on and Rogue is in with her."

"She gets hurt, bub, and yer gonna pay."

Scott smirked as he glanced over at the older man. "Begin test." he announced over the intercom.

The Danger Room lights dimmed and shadows grew as the room transformed from an empty space to a rough street that could be in any city in the country. Jubilee immediately melted into the shadows and looked around.

She needed to find the innocent victim and avoid the aggressors. She saw a cluster of three men talking on a street corner. She did not think they could be the victim. She marked their faces in her mind and moved.

A fire escape ladder blocked her progress. She shrugged her shoulders and reached up for the ladder. Using her strength and training, she pulled herself up and began to climb the fire escape.

She thought about what Scott wanted her to do as she climbed. She needed to find the one innocent person in the room. If she just had Wolvie's nose, it would not be very difficult but she was a numb nose in comparison. She needed to do something else.

Suddenly, she felt a pressure on her head that made her flinch. Just as she moved her head, a bullet whizzed past.

'That's it!' she thought as she flipped up to the roof and ran, her heart pounding. It had been too many years since she had been shot at and her mind was in a panic.

She quickly jumped from roof to roof, keeping the air conditioner units between her and the gunmen. She needed to find a safe place where she could concentrate.

She threw herself down on a roof and peered over the edge. A window was just below her. Lowering herself over the side, her feet just touched the sill of the window. She released one hand and grabbed the casement. The other hand left the edge and slid open the glass as she slipped into the apartment.

She looked around and found herself alone in the shabby room. She moved to a corner, cleared her mind and willed her racing heart to slow. With a delicate touch, she let her mind expand. One person; alone and frightened.

"Where are you?" she murmured aloud. "I know you're out there."

It took her five minutes and gave her a blinding headache but she found him. Male and young. Possibly just a kid. He was six buildings north and very close to a group of men who had murder on their minds.

Scott and Logan watched as she made her way across the roofs to the building marked in her mind.

"She's found the victim." Scott told the older man. "Spike on the psi energy readings." He marked the paper graph rolling out of the printer. "Looks empathic." he remarked to Logan.

A rustle of paper and fabric announced the arrival of Henry McCoy. "Sorry I'm late." he apologized breathlessly. "I lost track of time."

"At 6:00 in the morning?" Scott teased. He knew Hank McCoy frequently became so involved in his experiments that he forgot to eat and bathe. This time, it looked as if he also forgot to sleep. His clothing was heavily wrinkled and his fur had large mats in several places. It looked as if he had not combed it for several days.

"Blue," Logan said without turning from the window, "I don't mind that ya get caught up in yer work; ya do a lot of good, but ya could at least take a shower once in a while."

Beast scowled at the smaller man but did not reply as he seated himself before the graph printer. He adjusted his glasses and looked over the recording.

"Empathy?" he remarked. "This is a surprise. I don't see a graph on her pyrotechnic output."

"That's coming up." Scott told him as he adjusted the panel.

Two of the men broke from the others and moved toward the back of the building to intercept Jubilee and the victim.

Jubilee was impressed. The new programs were considerably more sophisticated than the ones she had been trained with. The boy she had been sent in to rescue was displaying emotions that were appropriate for the situation and behaving exactly as if he were real. He refused to come out of the closet he had been hiding in. It took her several minutes to convince him that she was there to rescue him and even longer to get him to stop whimpering in fear. The strangest thing was she was able to read his emotions like she was able to read Mari's. It was a little unnerving.He was a hologram, not a human.

She was finally able to calm him enough to get him moving in the right direction to get him out of the building and to safety but when they exited the rear door, they were confronted by two of the aggressors. She quickly paffed the men in the face, grabbed the shrieking boy by the collar and ran.

She ducked down the third alley she came to, dragging the boy behind her. A large dumpster provided some cover but the alley was a dead end. They could not stay. They would be trapped.

The boy's whimpering finally got on her nerves and she snapped. "If you don't shut up, I'm going to leave you here." she snarled.

The boy quieted. All she could hear was his rapid, frightened breathing as she took stock of her situation. They were hiding in an alley that only had one exit and that exit would put them in the path of danger. Looking up, she found tall brick walls. There was no fire escape or windows on any of the walls. It was possible she could climb one but she did not think the boy could.

She eased open the dumpster and looked in. Not too full but it smelled foul.

"Get in." she whispered to him.

"What?" he whispered back. "That thing stinks. I'm not getting in there!"

"It's either get in or get shot." Jubilee informed him. "Which will it be?"

The kid scowled at her but climbed into the dumpster.

"Burrow down and cover yourself with some of the garbage." she instructed. She could tell he was doing his best not to heave from the thought. "I know it's nasty." she sighed. "Just do it." She waited until he was well covered before she left to hunt the aggressors.

"I hadn't thought about the dumpsters." Scott admitted as he watched her creep along the building. "We always eliminate the aggressors, then save the victim."

"The last two times we used this program, the victim was injured." Hank reminded him.

"I've been tellin' ya that was the way ta go." Logan said. "Take away their advantage. The control of the kid is the power in this one. Jubes knows what she's doin'."

"I need to see her power level." Hank told them. "Is there any way you can make her use full power?"

Scott looked over at Logan, thinking. He had an idea he was sure Logan would hate.

"What?" Logan asked, suspiciously.

"You won't like it." he said.

Logan's eyes narrowed. "What's yer idea?"

"There aren't that many people who can frighten her enough to make her let go and blast with full power." Scott told him.

Logan was getting a very bad feeling about this.

"Do it." Hank ordered.

"Wait a minute, Blue." Logan objected.

"I need to see what her power levels are." Hank told him. "That last paff was near the highest level she had before she left. I think she has more in her."

"But scarin' her ain't always the best thing ta do." Logan warned them.

"Do it." Hank repeated.

Scott flipped a switch and another hologram was added to the room.

Logan's breath caught when he recognized the new addition. "Yer gonna be sorry ya did this." he told them. Logan had never told them the whole story. He sat and watched helplessly as her biggest fear approached her back.

Jubilee shot two paffs at the last aggressor, confident that she had beaten the test and turned to get the victim to take him to the safe zone. The sound of footsteps made her pause. Someone else was out there.

When he walked out of the shadows, all she could see was his black clad legs. There was something familiar about his walk that filled her with dread. Her heart began to pound and her mouth went dry.

"My, how you've grown." the cultured voice said.

Jubilee was suddenly overwhelmed with nausea. "Bastion." she whispered.

"I'm please that you remember me." he said as he stepped out of the shadows pulling on his heavy leather gloves.

Jubilee hated those gloves. He only wore them when he was hitting her. He did not want to soil his good calf-skin gloves with her blood.

"You're no longer the frightened but defiant little girl." he observed as he walked around her, his eyes going over her still form. "What are you now? The frightened but defiant woman?"

His leather covered finger trailed down her cheek raising goose bumps of fear as it went. "Tell me. Did your 'Wolvie' ever find you? Did he rescue you after that traitor, Daria, let you out or did you wander the desert until you found someone you could dupe into taking you in?"

He grabbed her chin and a cruel grip and forced her to look in his eyes. "It was you, you know." he sneered. "You told me where they were. All I needed to do was go and get them. I couldn't have done it without you."

"No!" she whimpered. "I didn't!"

"Oh, but you did." he corrected with a smile. "You told me everything. You told me where they were, their powers and weaknesses. You even told me their real names and histories. I knew everything about them. Even your precious 'Wolvie'. All I had to do was go and get them."

"But you couldn't keep them." she said in a tremulous voice.

"Ah, yes." he said, releasing her chin. "You're little stunt with the control panel." He leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Tell me, did my guards treat you ... well?"

"What's he sayin' ta her?" Logan demanded as he watched Bastion whisper to Jubilee.

"The computer is reacting and interacting with her." Hank explained. "He is saying what she expects him to say."

Logan watched as color fled from her face and just as quickly, return. He recognized this look and it did not bode well.

"Uh, guys." he called. "I don't think she's afraid."

"Her heart rate, respirations and adrenaline levels are markedly elevated." Hank told him. "She has all the indications of fear."

"I think she's gettin' mad." he told them as he moved closer to the window.

"What?" Scott asked.

"According to all the data, she's afraid." Hank insisted.

"I'm tellin' ya, she's gettin' mad." Logan warned them. "Ya better tell Rogue ta take cover." He watched as Jubilee's color continued to heighten, her mouth stretching into a thin line. "Get down!" he yelled as he threw himself to the floor.

Just as he hit the floor, a bright flash of light followed immediately by a deafening boom filled the control room. The safety glass shattered under the pressure and flew across the room, embedding inches deep in the opposite wall.

He rose, shaking his head. He could not hear the clicks and hums of the equipment in the control room nor the breathing of his fellow occupants. He stuck a finger in his ear and shook it, trying to clear the ear. He tried to pop his ears by yawning.

'Damn.' he thought. He was effectively deaf until his eardrums regrew. He checked on Scott and Hank, both alive but unconscious. He looked out through the broken window to see Jubilee standing in the middle of the empty room, her hands held stiffly at her sides, plasma dripping from her fingers and anger clear on her face.

"Jubes!" he yelled.

Her eyes snapped to the window, her hands raising to paff him.

"It's me, Jubes." he yelled

Her eyes began to clear and a look of confusion flashed across her face. "Wolvie?" She could hear the mansion alarms blaring.

"Check on Rogue." he ordered.

"Rogue?" she asked, still confused.

"In the safe zone." he told her. "Make sure she's okay."

It suddenly dawned on her why she was in the Danger Room and what had happened. "Rogue!" she gasped. "Oh my God! What have I done?"

She ran to the pile of holographic emitter panels that had landed in the safe corner of the room and began to lift them, crying out for her friend.

"Please be okay." she begged as she removed the last panel to reveal the pale face of the untouchable Rogue. She was not breathing.


	8. Saving a Friend

Saving a Friend

"Rogue!" Jubilee screamed, shaking her friend hard. "No! Please don't be dead!"

Despite her panic, training took over and she tilted Rogue's chin to open her airway. She listened closely and, finding no air moving, began rescue breathing. She did not even think about the possibility that, because Rogue's heart was still beating, she could be killed just helping her friend.

She felt the drain on her powers the moment her lips touched Rogue's but she ignored the feeling and blew hard into the stricken woman's lungs, inflating them fully. She lifted her mouth to allow the air to escape and repeated the process three more times. Each time, more of her life force was transferred to Rogue. She waited five seconds and began the rhythm she had been taught, becoming weaker with each breath. Spots were floating before her eyes after the fifth breath but she continued to work. She could not give up. If Rogue died, it would be her fault. A ringing filled her ears as her movements became uncoordinated.

"No!" she moaned, knowing she was close to passing out. "Not yet!" As she reached for Rogue to continue her efforts, an arm wrapped around her waist and lifted her away.

"Lemme go!" she demanded weakly, her heavy arms and legs twitching as she struggled to free herself.

"It's okay, Jubes." Logan whispered into her ear. She quieted immediately "Let Hank take over from here."

"It's my fault, Wolvie." she sobbed. "I killed her."

"She ain't dead, darlin'." he told her as he carried her out of the Danger Room. "And it ain't yer fault."

"Yes, it is." she moaned. "If I hadn't blasted Bastion, she wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"We'll talk about it when yer feelin' better." he insisted as he walked through the open med lab doors. "I want ya ta rest right now." he told her as he placed her gently on a bed. "I'll let Mari know what happened but yer gonna stay here until Blue tells ya ta get out."

"But Wolvie," she said as she struggled to sit up.

Logan watched as all color leached out of her face and her eyes rolled up into her head. He guided her down to the bed as she lost consciousness. "Figured that would happen." he mumbled to himself.

He smelled the soapy, rainy scent of Ororo Munroe as she ran down the hall from the stairs. "Storm!" he yelled.

She skidded to a stop outside the med lab door, gasping and out of breath. "What happened?" she asked. "I heard a bang and the mansion shook. What's wrong with Jubilation?"

"Cyke was stupid enough ta make her mad." Logan told her. "Keep an eye on her while I go let Rogue borrow some 'o my healin' factor."

"Is she going to be alright?" she asked.

"Jubes? Yeah. Spent too long touchin' Rogue but she'll be fine when she wakes up."

"I meant Rogue." Ororo clarified.

"Don't know." he admitted. "She was in the room when Jubes blew." He headed for the door.

"What about you?" she called.

"Havin' a little trouble hearin' but I'll be okay." he told her as he left the lab.

Jubilee came to slowly, her head ringing. It took her a moment to orient herself before she opened her eyes. The med lab was full of people. She searched the crowd for the one face she needed to see but he was no where to be found. She could not help but feel a stab of disappointment.

Mari's face rose above her. "Mom?" she asked quietly. "Are you okay?"

"Hey." she said with a weak drawl. "What are you doing out of class?"

"Ms. Frost said I could sit with you until you woke up." she told her mother. "She'll be popping into my head soon to tell me to come back but I need to know if what they say is true."

"What are they saying?" Jubilee asked.

"They said you gave Rogue mouth-to-mouth." Mari said in a shocked voice. "Is that true?"

"Um ..." she hedged. "Well ... yeah. I did."

"Are you nuts?" Mari shrieked. "You could have been killed."

Jubilee hissed in pain as her headache swelled. "Mari, please don't yell." she begged.

"Why would you do something so stupid?" Mari hissed. "What would I do if you were killed?"

"Mari, sometimes you have to do what's right, even if it might hurt you. If I hadn't helped Rogue, she would have died."

"What would have happened to me if you died instead?" Mari demanded.

"**You would have remained here at the school with Mr. Summers and myself."** Emma's cultured voice told them in their minds. Jubilee moaned in pain at the mental contact. **"I'm sorry, Jubilee."** She said in a quieter voice. **"Mariko, please refrain from berating your mother and return to class. Now is not the appropriate time to discuss your fears."**

"**When will be the right time?" **Mari demanded.

"**When she is feeling better, we will discuss what will happen to you if your mother is killed." **Emma told her. **"Until then, return to your class."**

"**Oh, alright." **Mari said sourly.

"Mari!" Jubilee said as firmly as she could. "You will treat your teachers with more respect. Do you hear me?"

Mari looked mutinous, her arms crossed and her lower lip pushed out. Jubilee knew she was about to start arguing with her.

"You will go to Ms. Frost and apologize for your attitude." Jubilee ordered.

"And if I don't?" Mari demanded.

"You will spend an hour in the Danger Room, training with Wolverine." she told her. "And don't for a moment think he would go easy on you because he likes you. He takes respect very seriously."

Mari glared at her and almost ran out of the room.

Jubilee rubbed her temples, trying to ease the ache behind her eyes. She was so disappointed in her daughter. She had hoped that Emma's dignity would rub off on Mari but it seemed that Logan's rough ways were dominating.

"**We will talk about this later, Jubilee." **Emma said softly in her mind. **"Get some sleep."**

"**Emma ...," **Jubilee began.

"**Not now, darling. You have a migraine and I am busy. I will talk to you at the party tonight."**

Jubilee groaned. She had forgotten about Mari's birthday party.

"You in pain, darlin'?" Logan asked as he sat in the chair at her bedside.

"Headache." she admitted. "How's Rogue?"

"She'll be fine. Blue said she had a concussion. That's why she stopped breathing."

"But she'll be okay, right?"

"Yeah." he reassured her. "I let her borrow my healin' factor."

"What about the others?" she asked. "Scott and Hank were in the control room."

"Scooter got pretty banged up and Blue has an egg on his head." he told her.

"How bad was Scott hurt?" she asked, dreading the answer.

"I didn't hurt him too bad." he told her. "He should be back on duty in about a week."

"You hurt him?"

"The Bastion hologram was his idea." Logan growled, still angry. "I told him it wasn't a good idea but he did it anyway.

"Yeah," she scowled, "I figured he ordered it. I'll be talking to him when I feel better."

"Ya don't hafta do that." Logan told her. "I already took care of it."

"For Christ's sake, Wolvie, let me take care of my own problems! Haven't you figured out yet that I'm grown up?"

His gaze suddenly went hot as he looked over her body carefully. "Oh, darlin'." he said in a low growl. "I _know_ yer all grown up."

She was frightened and excited at the same time. It had been a few years since a man had looked at her with fire in his eyes and it made her feel more womanly but she feared the intensity in his eyes.

"Don't, Wolvie." she whispered. "I can't deal with you right now."

"I know ya can't." he said as he stroked her hair. "But when yer feelin' better, we got some things ta talk about."

He leaned over and kissed her forehead before getting up. "I'll come by later and take ya ta Mari's party. Get some sleep." He left before she could tell him to stay away.

One of the medical assistants came over and adjusted her drip and the world went fuzzy. The pain in her head receded as the room grew black. She new nothing more for several hours.

Mari's birthday party was a subdued affair. Logan took Jubilee to the party in a wheelchair. She was secretly grateful that she did not have to walk to the rec room. She would have collapsed before she got out of the lower level hall. Rogue was not permitted to attend. Hank wanted to keep an eye on her to make sure the concussion was completely resolved. Scott showed up looking like he had the stuffing beat out of him. Logan avoided any contact with his leader. His temper was still running too high for him to control.

The confrontation between Scott and Jubilee happened as the party was winding down. She threatened to rip his pride and joy off if he ever tried a stunt like that again. He profusely apologized but explained why he did it. He told her he was impressed with her power level and asked if they could repeat the test without the Bastion hologram.

She said she would think about it.

Mari escaped the crowd of people who had attended her party and slipped out of the mansion into the cooling night air. Never happy in crowds, Mari had been feeling uncomfortable for hours. She was desperate to get out of the confines of the house and into the freedom of the trees. She breathed a sigh of relief as she entered the tree line and disappeared.

She walked for what seemed like hours, breathing in the freedom she had stolen. She wanted to stay here but she knew they would come looking for her.

"What are ya doin' out here, little girl?" The low growl came from the darkness.

She jumped at the sudden noise. "You startled me!" she gasped, her hand to her chest. "When did you get here?" She searched the trees, looking for the owner of the voice.

"This afternoon." the voice told her.

"Why didn't you come and get me?" she demanded. "I coulda used your help today."

"They don't like me much here." he told her.

"Well, come out here so I can give you a hug." she told him.

When he stepped out of the trees, Mari had to tilt her head back to look in his eyes. He was over a foot taller than her and outweighed her by five hundred pounds but he was her best friend; the only one she could depend on. He had blue eyes and shaggy blond hair that always was in need of a haircut. Tonight, he was wearing camouflage but she had seen him, on many occasions, wear a wolf skin poncho. It had been months since she had seen him. Just having him near made her feel safe.

"I missed you, Vic." she cried as she threw herself into his waiting arms.


	9. Best Friends

Best Friends

Emma blanched and stumbled, dropping the glasses she held.

"Emma?" Scott asked, concerned.

"Mari!" She was nearly screaming in panic.

"What about Mari?" Logan growled.

"She's with Sabretooth!"

Logan was out of the front door before Jubilee could struggle out of the wheelchair. She had to get to her daughter. Creed would kill her! She barely made two wobbly steps before Gambit snatched her up and tucked her under his arm.

"Gambit got you, p'tite." he said. "Let's go get your little girl."

He ran outside with Jubilee tucked under his arm in a football hold, her ribs bouncing painfully on his hip. She could not think of the pain now. She could not let it control her. She needed every ounce of her wits to deal with Sabretooth.

"Where?" he yelled to Emma.

"By that big rock in the orchard." she yelled back.

Most of the team took the frontal approach. Being a thief, Gambit could not do that. It was against his nature. He angled around to the back of the orchard and slowed his feet. He set Jubilee down near an ancient apple tree and waited for her to catch her breath.

"Keep de Wolverine or Gambit 'tween you and Sabretooth." he instructed. "We make sure Mari's okay, den we kill da homme."

"Stop babying me, Rem." she snarled. "I can take care of myself."

"Do what Gambit tell ya ta do." he said angrily. "You hurt right now." He ran off before she could continue arguing with him.

"Damn him." she exploded.

Creed sniffed the night air. Play time was over.

"Yer mom's comin'." he told Mari.

"Already?" she asked. "But I just got here."

"Don't matter." Creed said. "She's here, along with most of the X dweebs."

"That's not a very nice thing to call them." she protested. "Wolvie's an X-Man and he's not a dweeb."

"I could argue that point but I don't think we have the time." Creed said as he stood.

Creed was, by nature, an alpha; a dominate. He could not help the instinct to protect his young friend from the other alphas approaching their little clearing. The most powerful of the new alphas, he knew would never hurt Mari but the others, he was not sure. Things happened and if Mari got hurt, he could not guarantee that no one would die.

The first to emerge from the trees was the red visored leader of the team. Creed had tangled many times with Cyclops and knew the optic force beams, while not fatal to him, hurt like hell. He had no desire to spend what little time he could carve out of his schedule to visit Mari, aching and recovering.

Next to emerge was the blond chick Cyclops had been banging, wearing an outfit that was more appropriate for the bedroom than the forest. She was immediately followed by an ice covered form. These two were not a threat to him. He had taken both of them out several times.

Behind him, he could smell the spicy, Cajun scent of Gambit. This one was wily. He was very fast and unpredictable. Gambit's kinetically charged playing cards hurt when they exploded in your face and his bo staff could knock him out.

A 'whoosh' overhead located Storm. Her power over lightning made her a danger to him. She had never been angry enough with him to try to seriously harm him but a woman always had a temper. If she was angry enough, she could very easily kill him.

To his right was Wolverine, snarling and growling. Normally, Creed would have taken the smaller feral's demeanor with a grain of salt and attacked but he knew what Wolverine was to Mari. That made him much more dangerous.

The last to emerge was a pale and angry Jubilee. Out of all of them, this woman was the most dangerous to him. Not only was she the child's mother but she was the most unpredictable of all. If Mari were not involved, Jubilee might just insult him, paff him in the face and run off. But then again, she might insult him then throw a powerful paff that would boil the blood in his veins. He never knew just what she would do. He did know one thing: He had to tread carefully or Jubilee would kill him.

Creed looked at the assembled X-Men, trying to decide how he was going to handle the situation without getting Mari hurt when she took matters into her own hands. She ran around him and leapt into his arms, wrapping herself around him like a limpet. He heard Wolverine's growls take on a different, more menacing tone.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Mari." he whispered to her.

"I don't care." she whispered back. "I won't let them hurt you."

"Get in the house, Mari." Logan ordered tightly.

"I'm not going to let you hurt him." she yelled.

"Mariko Elizabeth Lee, get in the house!" Jubilee barked.

"You'll hurt him!" Mari argued.

"We won't hurt him Mari." Scott insisted.

"Speak fer yerself." Logan muttered darkly.

"Logan." Scott said, a warning in his voice. "Mari, please go with Storm and return to your room. We will discuss this in the morning."

"You promise you won't hurt him?" she demanded.

"I promise." Scott assured her.

"Vic?" she turned to him.

"You go ahead, little girl." he told her. "I'll talk to ya later."

She narrowed her eyes, deciding if she could trust him to remain where she could find him. "Okay." she finally said. "Night, Vic." She kissed his cheek and let go, sliding down to the ground.

"Night, sweetheart." he said with a smile.

The entire group watched as Storm lifted her above the trees and flew her back to the mansion.

"Don't hurt him, Wolvie." she called back to them.

Wolverine swore viciously.

"What have you been doing with my daughter?" Jubilee demanded.

"I ain't hurt her, frail." he sneered.

"Not yet." Iceman growled.

"I ain't gonna hurt the kid." Creed insisted. "I like her."

"Bull shit." Wolverine barked. "We got here too fast fer ya ta hurt her."

"If I wanted ta hurt the kid, I coulda done it any time in the past year." he informed them.

"What?" Wolverine and Jubilee yelled together.

"She saved my life." he explained. "I got mauled by a mountain cat when I was runnin' from bounty hunters last summer. She hid me in her tree house till I got better."

"She went to Big Sur last summer." Jubilee said.

Creed nodded. "Yeah." he said. "The ass hole shot me four times so I wasn't movin' too well. The cat musta been drawn by my blood."

"How did she get you back from the coast?" Jubilee asked, her stomach rolling with nausea. Her daughter, in close contact with this madman.

"She hid me on the bus."

"Just how long were ya hidin' out at Jubilee's house?" Logan demanded.

"Over a month."

Jubilee's color drained from her face at the thought. For more than a month, the most wanted mass murderer in the world had been living in the tree house in her backyard. She remembered wondering why her food had been disappearing that month. She had been feeding one of her worst enemies.

Remy caught her as she fainted from the stress and shock.

"Get out of here." Scott told Creed coldly. "Get out and don't come back."

"I hafta stay around fer Mari." he told them with a shrug. No wussy X-Man was going to tell him what to do.

"Stay away from her." Logan growled, his claws popping out of his hands. "I'll kill ya if ya touch her again."

"I ain't gonna hurt yer pup, Runt. Like I said, I like her." He watched as Gambit carried Jubilee away. "Ya lost her mother. I ain't gonna take yer kid."

"He's telling the truth, Logan." Emma said. "You do care for her, don't you?" she asked Creed.

"Yeah." he admitted.

"I think we can give him limited trust when it comes to Mari." she told the group.

"Are you crazy?" Bobby exploded. "We did that once and he tried to kill Jubilee. We can't take that chance with Mari."

"You were fooled because I wasn't here." Emma said regally. "Charles was hesitant to delve very deep into his mind. I have no such restrictions. I will go as deep as I wish to protect her and from what I have seen in his mind, he is telling the truth. He won't harm Mari and will kill anyone who dares to try to hurt her." She turned to Scott. "We can trust him."

"Are you sure?" he asked quietly.

"Yes."

"Well I ain't." Logan said angrily. "He's tried ta kill Jubes a bunch of times and he never stops goin' after me. Mari'll be safer with him dead."

"You guys argue," Creed said, disgusted, "I'm goin' back ta my hotel." He slipped away from the group and headed for the front gate.

Logan made to follow the bigger man but Scott stopped him. "Let him go, Logan."

"Mari'd be safer if he was gone or dead." Logan insisted.

"Not in public." Scott insisted. "Go back inside and check on Jubilee."

The memory of Jubilee's pale face appeared in his mind. 'Aw, hell.' he thought. 'Jubes and Mari, both, would kill me if I go after the son of a bitch.' He turned and began to walk back to the house.

"Logan." Scott called after him. "Bring Jubilee to my office in the morning. We need to talk to Mari."

Logan nodded sharply and continued on.

No one slept well that night.

The next morning, Emma stopped Mari before she could go to her first class and brought her to the headmasters office. Scott, Jubilee and Logan were waiting for them.

"Have a seat, Mari." Scott instructed. "We need to talk about what happened last night."

"Mari," Emma began.

"You didn't hurt him, did you?" Mari begged.

"No," Scott answered. "we didn't."

"Mari," Emma tried again.

"I didn't ask him to come here." Mari insisted. "He just came."

"We know that." Scott told her.

"Mari," Emma tried once more.

"I tried to get in touch with him and tell him not to come until I could talk to you but I couldn't reach him."

"Mari," Emma finally had enough. "Will you please not interrupt and let me talk?"

"Sure Ms. Frost." Mari mumbled, slouching down in her chair.

"Thank you." Emma said with as much dignity as she could muster. "As I was saying, Creed explained how you met and has expressed concern about your well being. We have assured him that you are safe here and your studies have born fruit but..."

"Why didn't you tell me he was in the tree house?" Jubilee demanded.

Emma threw her arms up in defeat. She had completely lost control of the meeting. Scott gave her a half smile and patted her hand as she sat down in the chair.

"Because I knew how you'd react." Mari told her. "He's not as bad as you think he is."

"How would you know?" Jubilee asked angrily. "You've known him for all of one year. I have known that animal for eighteen years, young lady, and I know exactly what he is capable of. I have seen him tear Wolvie apart many times."

"And how many times has Wolvie torn him apart?" Mari demanded. "They're just alike. Both of them have animal sides that take control at times. Wolvie spends more time as a man than Vic does but that's because he's had more practice. Vic's just learning how to control the animal side of him."

"And you're helping?" Jubilee's voice was getting higher as her anger rose.

"Why not me?" Mari asked. "You weren't much older when you helped Wolvie control his animal side."

"Even then, Wolvie had more control in his fingernails than Creed has in his whole body. He likes the animal, Mari. He's let it range free for so long that he can't pull it back even if he wanted to."

"That's not true!" Mari shrieked. "He's never hurt me. Can you say the same thing about Wolvie?"

Jubilee jerked back as if she had been slapped. Logan's control on his temper, always an iffy thing, broke to see his love hurt.

"That's enough, Mari." he thundered. "You will NOT see Creed ever again."

"Or what?" Mari demanded.

"I'll lock ya in yer room till yer twenty-one." he snarled.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" she demanded angrily. "My father?"

"Yeah!" he yelled.

A sharp intake of breath from Scott and Emma broke the resulting silence.

"What?" Mari shrieked. She looked at her mother. She had gone pale as soon as Logan yelled the last word. "Mom?"

"Mari," Jubilee began.

"He is, isn't he."

"Sweetheart, let me explain."

"Explain what?" Mari asked scathingly. "That you knew where he was all along? That all I needed to do was get on a plane and I could see him? That I've been living in the same house with him for three months and never knew it? How could you do this to me? You knew I wanted to know him. You knew how much I wanted a father. How could you be so selfish?"

Logan rose to hug his daughter.

"Don't touch me!" she yelled as he went to put his arms around her. "You knew the moment we met that I was your daughter and you didn't tell me either. You all knew." She turned and marched to the door. "I hate all of you." With that parting shot, she stormed out of the room.

Scott rose to chase after her.

"Let her go." Emma told him. "I'll keep an eye on her."

"You son of a bitch!" Jubilee shrieked as she flung herself at Logan, her fingernails slashing his face before he could catch her hands. Scott grabbed her around the waist and pulled her off his startled teammate.

"How could you?" she screamed, struggling to free herself from Scott's iron hold. "You knew I wanted to tell her in my own way."

"I'm sorry, Jubes." he apologized. "I was mad at how she was treatin' ya and it just slipped out."

"Sorry doesn't do it here, Logan." she snarled. "Mari and I have been having big problems and you just destroyed any chance I have of getting her to trust me again."

"I didn't mean to." he insisted.

"This is not helping the situation." Emma told them firmly. "She knows now and we have to deal with it. Jubilation, rein in your temper and sit down."

"She hates me now!" she cried to Emma.

"She doesn't hate you." Emma insisted. "She's angry and hurt but she doesn't hate either of you."

"There's a good possibility that she would have reacted this way no matter how you told her." Scott told her. "Give her time to cool off and come to terms with this, then you can start to rebuild her trust in you."

"What's she doin' now?" Logan asked Emma.

"She's in the woods with Creed." she told him.

"I'm outta here." he growled, heading for the door.

"You can't hurt him." Scott reminded Logan.

"I ain't gonna touch the bastard." Logan insisted. "I'm just gonna keep an eye on 'em."

He made his way to the woods at a fast lope. He never felt more divided. He needed to protect his daughter but he also needed to repair his relationship with Jubilee.

He had envisioned this moment differently. His vision had Mari happily smiling when she found out that she was his daughter, not screaming accusations at him and spewing hateful words at her mother.

All he ever wanted was some stability in his life. At first, the X-Men represented that stability but as the years went by, he wanted more. He wanted a woman who loved and needed him and children who loved and respected him. That desire first blossomed when he met Jean Gray.

Jean was a tall, leggy red head who had a body that could get a rise out of a dead man. She was heart stoppingly beautiful with sparkling green eyes and clear, strawberries and cream skin. She was also so far above him that he was looking at the soles of her feet and she was madly in love with Scott Summers. All of the obstacles did not keep him from dreaming about her. His dreams had mainly consisted of him nibbling his way up those endless legs but occasionally, they included a neat house ringing with the laughter of a couple of red headed babies.

It took Jubilee leaving him for him to see that they would have been miserable together. Jean was soft and kind hearted. He would have completely dominated her with his own forceful personality. He knew now that he would have ended up smothering her. Jubilee, on the other hand, never took any bull from him. She did not hesitate to tell him when he was being an ass and to change his attitude or she would change it for him. She had busted his balls many a time for some of the things he did. She never feared the wild part of him and in turn, the animal respected her. If Jubilee was not willing to do something, there was no way in hell he could get her to do it. Jean would have been a doormat and a slave to him. Jubilee will be a partner and mate. He had to everything is his power to convince her to take him back. He doubted he could find another woman that would complement him like she would.


	10. Mari's Dad

Mari's Dad

He could smell them before he could hear them. Creed had bathed sometime between last night and today. He no longer stank of sweat and travel dirt. Mari smelled of anger and tears of betrayal. She was yelling at Creed in the same voice she had used with Jubilee and him. Logan began to feel a little better.

"You knew." she screamed at Creed. "You knew all along who my father was, didn't you."

"I knew." he said calmly.

"When?" she asked harshly.

"Yer mom sold me a house two years ago." he told her. "I could smell ya on her."

"So?"

"Ya have yer dad's scent."

"So you knew by my scent that Wolverine was my father?" she clarified.

"Yeah."

"What did you do?" she demanded. "Spend the entire month you were at my house plotting to kill us?"

"Not all of it." he protested.

"No." she said. "For the first week, you couldn't. You spent most of that time moaning that you hurt too much to take care of yourself."

"I gotta admit, I was goin' ta kill ya but I changed my mind."

"Why?"

"No one's ever treated me like you do." he said, embarrassed. "Ya made me feel like I was just like any other guy. Ya made me feel like I was really a man and not an animal. I couldn't kill anyone who could do that fer me, even if she was the daughter of my worst enemy, and believe me, pup, ya are."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she cried, tears streaming down her face.

"You woulda gone ta him." he told her, chagrined. "I wanted ya ta myself."

"You wanted to be my friend just so you could get close to my mom and Wol ... dad." she accused.

"At first, yeah." he admitted.

"Why didn't you?"

"Cause I got ta know ya. I like ya, Mari. I won't kill yer parents 'cause it'd hurt ya too much."

"Ya promise?"

"Yeah, pup." he told her as he pulled her onto his lap. "I promise."

She sighed as she laid her head on his broad chest. "Why didn't they tell me, Vic." she asked.

"That's somethin' ya need ta ask 'em about." he told her.

"I'm not sure I'm ever going to talk to them again." she said angrily.

"They're yer parents, Mari an' they love ya. Like it or not, ya gotta talk to 'em.

"Why should I?"

"'Cause they're yer family." he told her seriously. "Family's important, Mari. Ya only get one so don't throw 'em away just 'cause they want ta protect ya."

"Protect me from what?"

"Yer dad's got a lot of powerful enemies, includin' me. Lot of 'em would love ta get ahold of ya so's they can force him ta do somethin'. Ya were safer not knowin' about each other."

"He didn't know about me?"

"Yer dad's a lot like me. If I had a pup like you out there and I knew about her, nothin' in this world could keep me away. If he knew ya were alive, he'd a seen ya a long time ago."

"So it's Mom's fault." she said with a small sniffle.

"Aw, Mari." he hugged her tightly. "Ya don't know what happened before ya were born."

"That's because she wouldn't tell me." Mari argued.

"Ya need ta sit down and talk ta yer mom and dad." he told her. "Get the truth from them but I want ya ta do somethin' fer me."

"What's that?"

"I want ya ta be grown up about it." he told her. "There are some things that happen between a man and a woman that a kid shouldn't hear. Don't push 'em ta tell ya things ya got no business knowin'."

"Like what?" she asked, curious.

"Yer gonna find out when yer older." he told her. "Like thirty." he mumbled.

"I gotta go." she told him. "I have a test today that I can't miss. Are you gonna stick around?"

"I can't." he told her. "I hafta be in London in the mornin'."

"When will you be back?"

"I don't know, pup. Ya got my cell number. Call me Saturday afternoon. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Talk ta yer parents." he ordered as she hopped off his lap

"I will." she promised.

He watched her as she ran off toward the house, his heart heavy. He needed to let her go. He father was in her life now and he could protect her.

"She's a great kid, Runt." he said to the trees. "Ya don't deserve her."

Logan dropped out of the tree to the leafy ground. "Ya really love her, don't ya?"

"Yeah," Creed sighed, "but she don't need me hanging around her. Much as I want ta be, I ain't her father. You are. She's gonna need ya ta be there fer her."

"Ya ain't comin' back?"

"Nope. Not fer awhile." he said as he rose from the rock. "She can call me whenever she wants but she's yer responsibility now."

Victor walked to his pack and slipped his arm through the strap, settling the heavy bag on his back. "Take care of her, Runt." he ordered before turning and walking into the trees.

"Creed!" Logan called. "Thanks fer keepin' her safe fer me."

"I didn't do it fer you." came Creed's rough snarl. "I did it fer her."

Logan felt a pang of jealousy as Creed retreated from the mansion. His worst enemy knew his daughter better than he did. Creed had a year with her. Logan had only three months.

He did not know what to do about this. Creed would not come back for a while. Hopefully, he would stay away long enough for Logan to develop a strong relationship with Mari but he could not count on that. Creed had a way of showing up just when you did not want him to.

He wandered back to the mansion to begin his day, his thoughts still very scattered.

Logan tapped on Mari's door after classes that afternoon feeling very nervous. The door was flung open by an obviously furious Allyson.

"I suppose you want to talk to Mari." she sneered.

"Watch the attitude, kid." he scowled.

"Whatever." She swept past him and ran down the hall.

"What's her problem?" he asked Mari as he closed the door.

"Some of the other kids heard us arguing this morning." Mari said, miserably. "It's all over the school now."

"Oh?"

"They all hate me now." she told him in a low, pained voice.

"Just 'cause yer my daughter?" he asked as he sat on the bed beside her.

"You don't understand!" she cried.

"No, darlin'." he said quietly. "They don't understand. They don't understand what it's like ta find out that ya have a beautiful, intelligent daughter and not know how ta tell her ya love her. They don't understand what yer mom went through after she left me. They don't understand how much it hurt ya ta find out about me like that." He lifted her chin with a finger and looked into her eyes. "I never wanted ta hurt ya, Mari. I wanted ya ta know but I promised yer mom I'd let her tell ya."

"Why didn't she?" Mari asked, sniffling back tears.

"She got hurt yesterday. She needed time ta get better before she talked to ya. She was gonna tell ya this afternoon but I opened my big mouth first."

"I just ..." She stopped to gather her thoughts. "I feel like everyone knew but me."

"Not everyone." Logan told her. "Most of the team knew 'cause they were here when yer mom and I were together. I don't think any of the students knew and none of the younger team members."

"Why didn't _they _tell me?" she demanded. "Mr LeBeau was here and I'm in his French class. Why didn't he or Ms. Frost tell me?"

"Who would ya rather hear it from? One of yer teachers or yer mom?"

"Mom, I guess." she admitted.

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "So, ya need help with yer homework?"

She nodded and leaned over to get her books. "You know, it's kinda cool having you for my father." she said.

"It's kinda cool havin' ya fer my daughter." he told her.

"Can I call you 'Dad'?"

Logan cleared his throat, trying to get his emotions under control. "I think I could get used ta that."

They worked on her homework for almost an hour before Mari began to question him again.

"How come Mom left?" she asked shyly.

He sighed heavily. "I said some things I shouldn't have." he told her. "And I didn't say the things I shoulda."

"And that made her stay away for twelve years?" Mari demanded.

"It's real complicated." Logan said, squirming uncomfortably. He was not about to discuss his stupidity with Mari.

Mari watched him closely. She tried to glean from his mind what had happened but, as usual, his shields were too strong. She had the same problem with her mother. Jubilee had a nearly impenetrable shield. Mari could occasionally catch a thought from her mother but only if she wished her to. Her father was like a psychic black hole. If she could not see him, she would never have known he was there.

"Did you love her?" she asked.

"I thought I didn't." he told her honestly. "At least, not like I shoulda. I wouldn't have let her go if I did."

"But ..." Mari prompted.

"It took me a long time ta figure everythin' out."

"Do you love her now?"

"Yeah, darlin', I do."

"Ya gonna tell her?"

"She's a little mad at me right now."

"She doesn't stay mad for long." Mari told him. "I've done some real stupid things and got her mad but she never stays mad for very long."

"She's been mad at me fer twelve years." Logan reminded her.

"I don't think so." Mari said thoughtfully. "From the way she talked about you, I'd say she was more sad than angry. I always got the feeling that she missed you."

"Well, she's still pretty pissed at me now."

"Give her time to cool off." Mari instructed. "She should be ready to talk soon."

"I'll do that." Logan said with a small chuckle. He got up and headed for the door.

"Dad?" Mari called after him. "Good luck."

Logans heart began to pound when she called him 'Dad'. Oh, yes. He could get very used to that.

He almost floated through the mansion as he searched for Jubilee. After about fifteen minutes, he was becoming concerned. She was nowhere to be found.

"She's in town talkin' to a Realtor." Rogue told him when he asked her.

"A Realtor?" he asked stupidly.

"Yeah." Rogue said with a shrug. "She says she wants ta move outta the mansion."

"Move out where?" he growled.

"Relax, shugah." Rogue laughed. "She ain't leavin'. She's just movin' inta town."

"But why?" he demanded.

"I dunno. Ask her." she said as she pulled food from the refrigerator. "Remy's cookin' tonight."

"You ain't helpin' are ya?" Rogue was completely helpless in the kitchen. She was the only X-Man who never had kitchen duty. The last time she cooked, over ten years ago, she gave half the team food poisoning. It was decided, right then and there, that she would never again be allowed to cook for the group.

"Keep that up and ya won't get nothin'." she threatened.

He raised his hand in defeat and backed away from her, smiling the whole time. A hand on his back stopped his movement.

"Don't back over me, Wolvie." Jubilee told him.

"Sorry, darlin'. Didn't hear ya come in."

"Did ya find anythin', shugah?" Rogue asked.

"I think so." Jubilee told her as she passed Logan. "I'm going to take Mari over on Saturday to see it."

"Mornin' or afternoon?" Logan asked.

"Afternoon." she told him. "Why?"

"She's gonna call Creed Saturday afternoon."

Jubilee swore loudly and marched out of the kitchen.


	11. A Home of Her Own

A Home of Her Own

"Jubilee!" Logan called as he chased her down the hall. "Wait a minute."

"What do you want, Wolverine?" she snapped as she strode toward the student dorm.

He grabbed her elbow and pulled her up short. "Don't do it, Jubes."

"Don't do what?" she demanded. "Don't care that my daughter is friends with that creep? Don't care that he could kill her any time he wanted?"

"He won't kill her Jubes." he told her softly. "He loves her."

"Oh, that's reassuring." she sneered. "Mari's the object of affection for Sabretooth. Wonderful!"

"He don't love her like that." Logan insisted.

"Then how?" she asked harshly.

"Kinda like I did when ya were a kid."

"And we all know where that went." she said scathingly.

"Jubilee, just 'cause we ended up lovers don't mean Mari and Creed will." Logan told her. "He can't be with her as much as me and you were."

"Can you guarantee that?" she cried.

"I can't guarantee the sun will shine tomorrow." Logan said, exasperated. "Give Mari some credit fer havin' a brain. She ain't stupid. She knows Creed's wanted all over the world."

"Is she going to remember that next time he comes for her?" Jubilee asked.

"He won't be comin' fer a while." Logan told her. "He left fer London this mornin' and he said he'd stay away fer awhile."

"How long is 'awhile'?"

"With Creed, ya never know." Logan admitted. "He won't hurt her, Jubes. I won't let him."

"You promise?"

"Yeah, darlin'." he said. He reached up and trailed a finger down her cheek. "Ya grew into a very beautiful woman, Jubilee. I'm glad Mari takes after ya when it comes ta looks."

Jubilee swallowed hard. Some things never changed. He could always make her shiver when he touched her, make her heart jump when he said her name in that tone of voice. She looked into his sweet eyes; the eyes he gave their daughter. 'I still love him.' she realized. She wanted to just throw herself into his arms and take what she wanted so much. The men she had dated while she was away paled in comparison to his overt masculinity. He exuded sexuality from every pore and the primitive instinct to mate with the strongest male nearly overwhelmed her.

She took a step back from him, shaking. Taking a few breaths, she calmed herself and looked at him.

"You want to come with us to see the house?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"Ya sure darlin'?" he asked softly.

"I'd like your input on security." she told him.

"Sure darlin'." he told her. "I'll come with ya." It would pacify his protective instinct, at least; would not satisfy it (having her with him was the only thing that would) but he would have to settle for that.

When Saturday came and Creed still had not appeared at the mansion, everyone began to relax. Logan found Mari in the rec room talking on the phone to Creed early Saturday afternoon.

"I gotta go, Vic." she said into the phone. "Mom and Dad are taking me to look at a house. Mom wants to move out of the mansion."

"A house?" he asked with a low growl. "Are ya goin' ta be livin' there too?"

"I guess so." she said. "Mom's going to be teaching math next semester so I'm probably going to be living with her."

"Yer dad there?"

"Yeah." she said as she glanced over at Logan. "He's right here."

"Lemme talk ta him."

She thrust the phone at Logan. "He wants to talk to you." she told him. "He sounds kinda pissed."

"Whatcha want Creed?" he growled.

"A house, Runt?"

"Yeah?"

"How are ya goin' ta protect her when she ain't even in the same house as you?" Creed growled back.

"Mari, go wait in the car. I'll be there in a minute." He waited until she was out of the room before answering. "She's _my_ daughter, Creed. I can take care of my own."

"Like ya did her mother." He snarled. "Ya took care of her so good that she ran away from ya."

"Leave Jubilee outta this." Logan barked. "Mari's gonna be protected."

"I'll come and check it myself." Creed warned.

"You do that!" Logan slammed the phone down in a temper. He growled all the way out to the garage.

"What's got your panties in a twist?" Jubilee asked as he climbed into the little BMW.

"Creed." he grumbled.

"Oh."

Logan's stomach clenched when he saw the house Jubilee had fallen in love with. It was a mid 19th century Victorian that looked as if it had not been touched since it had been built. Unfortunately, it also looked as if it had not had regular maintainance either. The house was filthy with rat droppings and birds nests everywhere. The living room ceiling had fallen into a pile in the center of the room. A claw foot tub was perched on top of the pile and the bathroom above it was completely visible.

"What a dump." Mari remarked as she walked around the rubble.

"You said it, kid." Logan said as he looked around. "This place is a mess, Jubes."

"I know, Wolvie." she crowed. "Isn't it great?"

"'Great' ain't the word I'd choose." Logan told her. He watched as Mari wandered off and up the stairs. "Be careful Mari. Test the floors before ya step on 'em."

"I know it doesn't look like much now, but it has incredible potential." She dragged him into the almost intact dinning room. "Look, Wolvie. Fourteen foot ceilings, crown moldings, chair rails. Look at these floors! Two hundred year old oak! Look at the patina."

"I'll admit there's some nice stuff here but are ya sure ya want ta take this on? It's gonna be a lot of work and a lot of money."

"I need to get an inspection first but I think I can do this."

"By yerself?" he asked, incredulous.

"No, silly." she smiled. "I'll hire someone to do most of the work but I want to do some of it. It's going to be fun."

"Fun?" he demanded. "What's so fun about workin' yer tail off?"

"I'll be working my tail off and have something to show for it." she said. "I want this, Wolvie."

"Are ya sure about this?"

"Yeah." she said. "Will you be able to work in the security?"

"Since most of the walls are fallin' down, there shouldn't be any problem installin' the sensors." he told her. "Ya won't be able ta move in right away. Ya don't have a workin' bathroom in this place."

"Oh, I know that." she said happily. "I'm going to have them get a bedroom and bathroom finished first before they work on the rest of the house."

"Mari ain't stayin' here until the security is in." he told her. "Creed's already havin' kittens 'bout her movin' outta the mansion." Logan was as well but for Jubilee more than Mari.

"She's not moving in here." Jubilee informed him. "She's safer at the mansion."

"Ya ain't gonna move her in here?" he asked, very surprised.

"No." she said. "Mari's still developing a healing factor. Creed is the least of my worries. She needs to stay at the mansion where I know she's safe."

"I'm glad ya think so." he said, relieved.

"Why," she asked, her head tilted to the side in question.

"It'll keep Creed away." Logan told her. "He threatened ta come back and test yer security. Mari can tell him when she calls the next time."

"Isn't there any way to stop this?" she scowled.

"What did ya say ta Hope when she tried ta tell ya that ya couldn't call me?" he asked.

"I told her to bite me and I'll call whoever I wanted." she recalled. "Okay, Wolvie. I get your point. I still don't like it."

"Nothin' we can do ta stop it." he told her.

"I guess I'll have to hope she starts making friends." Jubilee said with a small sigh.

"It's worse upstairs." Mari said as she strolled into the room. "I guess I'm staying at the mansion for a while longer."

Logan and Jubilee looked at each other guiltily.

"Let's get back." Jubilee said. "I need to call Teresa before five."

The process to purchase a house is not simple or quick. Jubilee knew this when she submitted the offer but by the time her birthday rolled around, she was still in negotiations with the owner of the property and was becoming discouraged. The man's demands were getting ridiculous. She was getting the feeling that he just did not want to sell to a mutant.

"I don't know what to do anymore, Warren." she told the winged mutant as they sat beside the pool during her party. "The latest demand is for a two year lease back."

"It's not so unusual to lease back, Jubilee." Warren told her.

"I know that but the house isn't habitable. Why would he want to lease back when he can't live in the house or even sublease? The county inspector already told me I couldn't get a certificate of occupancy for at least a year and that's with work being done. This guy doesn't have the money to do anything to bring the house up to code."

"Does he know you're a mutant?" Warren asked.

"I didn't give him a demonstration of my powers, if that's what you're asking." she said as she grabbed her beer and took a drink. "I mean, what else can it be?"

"It could be that he objects to you being Chinese." Warren suggested.

She looked at him in surprise. "Could it be that simple?"

"People can be petty." he reminded her.

"If it's that, then I have legal recourse." she said. "EOC doesn't allow discrimination like that. If I can threaten him with a law suit based on that, I think he'll cave in and sign the contract."

"Do you want to borrow Preston?" he asked. Preston Bailey was Warren's best friend and his attorney. Preston had argued before the Supreme Court twice and had won the decision both times. Other attorneys shook in their Italian shoes when they heard his name. If his name appeared on the docket as attorney for the defense, the state usually would bargain or drop the charges completely. He was a force to be reckoned with.

"Let me try it first." she said. "If it doesn't work, I'll call Preston myself."

"I'll let him know you may call him."

"Thanks." she said as she got up. "I'm getting another beer. Would you like one?"

"No, I'm fine." He watched as she made her way over to the makeshift bar.

"Hey, Swamp Rat?" Rogue said to her husband as she eased herself onto the bench beside him. "What's so fascinatin' that ya won't even look at me?" She set a beer down in front of him.

"Watchin' de Wolverine watch de p'tite." Remy answered. "Merci." he said as he lifted her hand and softly kissed her gloved knuckles. "He won' talk ta her 'cause he so afraid he hurt her. She won' talk ta him 'cause she afraid she get hurt again."

"Are ya sure he's still interested in her?" she asked.

Remy did not answer right away. Logan was watching Jubilee's bikini-clad form as she passed him on her stroll back to the bar. The besotted feral was walking in the opposite direction, watching her swaying posterior and not noticing the support post until he had walked into it and bounced off, landing on his bottom on the cement patio.

"Uh huh." Remy said with a small chuckle. "He still interested."

Jubilee tried one more time to get the owner to sign the contract. When he issued another of his ludicrous requests, she told her Realtor to inform the seller that he would be contacted by Jubilee's lawyer. Teresa, making sure she mentioned Preston Bailey's name, called the listing agent. Within two hours, Jubilee had a signed contract in her hand.

"Well, it's all yers." Logan said as they stood in the ruined living room.

Jubilee was walking though the house, a pad of paper in her hand, making notes. "I think I'm going to do blue board and plaster." she said as she examined the walls. "No one does lathe and plaster anymore. I'm going to have to interview a general contractor. I won't have the time to watch the workmen as closely as they'll need. Do you want to install the sensors before or after the walls go up?"

"We'll run the wirin' along side the house wires and CAT 5." he told her. "After the walls are finished, we'll go back and put the sensors in. That way, the drywall guys won't think anythin' unusual is goin' on. I want ta put pressure sensitive pads in an uneven grid inside and outside the house. I think that little room next ta yers would be a good place ta put the control room."

"Don't make any big plans, Wolvie." she warned him. "I'm going to have an architect come in and redesign the interior. The walls are moving."

They walked into what Jubilee thought of as the kitchen. "I'd like a monitor in here." she told him. "I don't want to answer the door unless I know who's there."

"We can put a monitor and a computer here so ya can flip though the cameras and see everythin'." he said. "Just make sure we get the blueprints so we can plan the wirin'."

"I will." she promised. She could not help grinning. "It's really happening." she squealed. "It's going to be great, Wolvie. You just wait."

A loud creak interrupted his response. He glanced up in time to see large cracks race across the plaster. He quickly grabbed Jubilee and dragged her to the floor, covering her with his body just as the ceiling crumbled and fell, landing on them with a bone crushing jar.

He had to force himself to get off of her soft body and dig them out of the debris. He finally stood and pulled her out of the plaster pile, brushing the dust off her clothes.

"Yeah, Jubes." he said with a scowl. "It's gonna be great. It the house don't kill ya first."


	12. Renovations

Renovations

"How much did you pay for this dump." Bobby asked as he walked around the crumbling rooms. He had volunteered to take Jubilee to the house to meet with the architect she had hired for the restoration. He was appalled at the condition of the house. Several more ceilings had fallen leaving a heavy coat of plaster dust throughout the rooms. The architect, an older man named Peter Wellesley, had insisted on hard hats and dust masks for everyone while they were in the house.

"Plaster dust and asbestos aren't healthy for the lungs," he had told them.

Jubilee had happily complied with Peter's wishes. She knew she was lucky to get him. He was a genius when it came to restoration architecture and as soon as she and Logan met him, they knew why. He was a mutant with the ability to see any two dimensional drawing in three dimensions. It was not a powerful mutant gift but it gave him an edge in his chosen profession.

"$350,000 for the house and land." Jubilee told Bobby.

Bobby's eyebrows rose in surprise. "How much land?" he asked.

"Eight acres." she told him with a grin.

Bobby whistled appreciably. "Damn! The land's worth more than that. How'd you get this so cheap?"

"The house is on the National Registry for Historic Homes." she explained. "You can't tear it down. I was the only one in the last six years who has the money to restore it."

"We've budgeted $2.5 million to restore the house and gardens." Peter told him. "When I'm done with it, the property should be worth somewhere near eight million."

"How much time are we talking about?" Bobby asked. "A year?"

"More like two." Jubilee told him.

"A project this big and this complicated takes time." Peter explained. "Much of what was destroyed will have to be replicated by hand. There are not many craftsmen left in the world who know how to make these things and those who do are very busy. We will have to wait our turn with them. But first Miss Lee, we will need to hire a general contractor."

"I don't really know anyone here." she admitted. "Do you have anyone you can recommend?"

"Actually, I know of three that could handle the job."

"Which one would you use on your own home?"

"That's easy." he said "Katrina Johanssen."

"Why her?" Bobby asked.

"First and foremost, she's mutant friendly." Peter told them. "More importantly, she has an extensive background in restoration and a degree in fine arts. She knows how to do it and she'll do it right the first time."

"Will she work with my interior designer?" Jubilee asked.

"I don't see why not." he said with a shrug.

Six weeks later, she signed off on the blueprints. Peter gave her four copies, two of which, she passed on to the X-Men. Logan, Bishop, Remy and Scott poured over the drawings, planning a sophisticated security system for the house. Their lively argument drew spectators from all over the mansion.

"I'm tellin' ya, the camera needs ta be here." Logan insisted as his finger tapped a corner of the paper.

"But that will leave a blind spot here." Bishop pointed out, jambing his finger on another spot of the paper.

"Put another camera in if ya hafta but ya can't put one there." Logan told him.

"Why not?" Bishop demanded.

"There's an old hickory tree right here." Logan told him, tapping the paper. "It'll block everythin' but the right side of the picture."

"Then we'll cut the tree down." Scott said.

"Jubes'll kill ya if ya cut that tree down." Logan warned. "She wants ta put an outdoor kitchen in the shade there."

"No." Scott sounded miffed. "No outdoor kitchen."

Logan snorted. "Ya get ta tell 'er that yerself." he said with a grin. "Just make sure I ain't here when ya do. I'm still tryin' ta get 'er ta take me back."

Jubilee quickly nixed the death of the tree. The property had several very old and very large trees on it. The ancient hickory was in a perfect position to shade the west side of the house from the evening glare and she had plans for that tree. Scott learned early in the restoration that Jubilee had very strong ideas and she did not care how HE felt about it. SHE was going to have her way.

Logan knew his Jubes. He was not about to say 'no' to her unless he had a very good reason. So far, he had only had to put his foot down once. He had Peter leave room for a 'panic room' in the overall design of the house. He wanted to make sure she had a safe place to go and an undetectable way out of the house should the need arise. Jubilee had accused him of paranoia but all he needed to do was describe a scenario where Mari was an overnight guest when the house was attacked and she gave in and let him have his way.

Scott and Bishop gave their enthusiastic approval to the 'panic room' idea and made plans to have it double as a control room for the security systems. Jubilee had no idea exactly how much security they were planning to install and Logan was grateful for that. He was sure she would not like the lasers they were going to place at all the entries and at strategic spots on the grounds. If they could just keep her ignorant until everything was in place, there would be nothing she could do about it.

The arrival of Steven Peltier, Jubilee's interior designer friend, was enough for Logan to retreat to the Danger Room with a growl of jealousy. The man was tall, buff and handsome. Remy had insisted that he recognized the man from an advertisement for underwear. Steven admitted that he modeled in his youth and some of the photographs were still in use.

Steven greeted Jubilee with a kiss that had Logan growling loudly. She was obviously very fond of the man because if looked like she was returning the kiss.

"You don't have the right, Logan." Scott reminded him.

"Yet." Logan said, looking daggers into Steven's back.

Katrina Johannsen was everything Peter said she was. Jubilee was greatly impressed with her credentials and references but she had problems with how she interacted with the male residents of the mansion, most particularly, Logan.

Katrina, or Kat, as she preferred to be called, was a tall, leggy blond with a figure would not be out of place among the busty women who lived at the mansion. She took one look at Logan's sweaty, rippling muscles and decided he was to be her entertainment while she worked on Jubilee's house. To say Jubilee was jealous was putting it mildly. If she could have found anyone else to do the job, she would have fired the bimbo as soon as she propositioned him.

The situation was not any fun for Logan, either. He had been celibate since before Jubilee's return to the mansion. He wanted Jubilee to see that he was committed and faithful to her but Kat made it very difficult. She had a habit of cornering him and running her hands over his body while she purred in his ear, telling him what she wanted to do to him, in very graphic detail. What was worse was that Jubilee's scent permeated the house, even over the smells of sawdust and oil. He could not get away from it. If Kat's hands and whispered words were not keeping him in a constant state of arousal, the scent of warm Jubilee was.

Jubilee was aware of what Kat was doing but she felt that she had no right to stop her. She walked out on Logan thirteen years previously and gave up the right to interfere with his sex life. That knowledge did not keep her from gritting her teeth whenever she saw Kat move towards him. Her only consolation was that he did not appear to welcome her advances.

Ororo was not so shy. She still considered Logan hers, even though she had not been in his bed, nor he in hers, for several months. The beautiful weather goddess confronted Kat one morning three months into the job and threatened to rip her blond hair out if she did not leave Logan alone. Kat, in return, knew Storm was a powerful mutant and told Jubilee she would quit if she was ever threatened again. Jubilee was ready to let her leave until the contractor she was negotiating with heard of the threats and backed out. Try as she might, she could not find another contractor who had the experience and was willing to do the job. She was forced to ask Ororo to back off and leave Kat alone.

Ororo was furious. She would prefer keep Logan's affections but if she had to lose him, she would rather lose him to Jubilee than to Kat. She knew Jubilee cared for him and would treat him well. Kat, however, lusted for him. When her lust was spent, she would leave him and never come back. She felt that Logan deserved to be coddled and cared for and if it could not be her, it better be Jubilee.

"What am I gonna do?" Logan asked Gambit one evening during a Danger Room training session he was sorely in need of. Kat had been extra attentive that day and Logan's nerves were on edge. He had started the session alone, tearing up as many targets as he could in as short a time possible. Remy had joined him after an argument with Rogue. "She's drivin' me nuts." Logan complained.

"Which one?" Remy asked during a break. "Kat or de p'tite?"

"Kinda both." Logan admitted. "If Kat ain't touchin' me, Jubes is around with her scent an' her voice. A man can only take so much, Gumbo."

"Well," Remy drawled, "ya can' screw Kat. De p'tite find out real quick if ya do."

"Kat ain't the one I want anyway." Logan protested. "I want Jubes."

"She ain't ready yet?"

"Nah. She still don't believe me when I tell her I'm over Jean. Then there's Peltier. He hangs on her like she's his. Dammit! She ain't his. She's mine!"

"Firs' ya gotta ease de pressure." Remy told him, alarmed at the passion in the older man's voice. "Gambit can help ya dere. You go see Cheryl Posset. She take care of ya." Cheryl was a very talented prostitute Remy had known for many years. Before Rogue mastered control of her powers, Cheryl was the only thing that kept Remy sane.

"I don't want a whore, Gumbo." Logan snarled. "I want Jubes."

"Ya go ta her like dis, ya gonna have no control an' ya might hurt her." Remy warned. "Better ya ease de pressure firs'."

"I'd be okay if Kat would quit kissin' on me." Logan growled. "I can deal with havin' Jubes scent all over but Kat pettin' me is too much."

"Tell her ta stop."

"I tried that. She just laughs and keeps goin'."

"Why does de p'tite keep her around when she do dis?" Remy asked as they left the Danger Room.

"Jubes tried ta replace her when 'Ro went off on her but no one else'll take the job." Logan told him. "That an' she does real good work."

Remy pushed open the door to the men's locker room, stripping his armor off as he went. Behind him, Logan was pulling off his uniform and grabbing towels for both of them. Remy could not help but notice, when Logan removed his pants, that he was fully erect.

"Remy'd offer ta help you wit' dat but Roguey made him promise he wouldn't do dat no more." Remy said, eying Logan's body.

"Jubes is in the mansion." Logan told him with a scowl. "I can smell her. 'Sides, I never took ya up of the offer before. What makes ya think I'd risk gettin' the crap beat outta me by Rogue and Jubes fer a quick lay?"

Remy's eyebrows rose. "Jus' smellin' da p'tite do dis to ya?"

"Yeah." Logan sighed. "It's worse if I can see her, too."

"I t'ink yer gonna hafta leave." Remy told him.

"Can't do that, either. I promised Jubes I'd stay here and protect Mari."

"You screwed, homme." Remy told him, shaking his head.

"I wish." Logan muttered.

Despite the sexual pressure he felt, Logan could not bring himself to put distance between Jubilee and himself. As painful as it was to be near her, being away from her was worse. He found that out the first time she went on a mission without him.

Official X-Men policy says that parents cannot be on the same team. If something happened, the child would lose both parents at the same time. Logan had forgotten that policy when Jubilee returned to the mansion, mostly because he never thought it would ever apply to him. After her third mission, his nerves had frayed to the breaking point. He had to do something to get his mind off what she was doing so he started to train Mari for combat.

She was overjoyed. Jubilee had expressly forbidden her to learn combat moves. It gave her a thrill to be able to do something her mother would not like. And to have her father doing it, well, that was the icing on the cake. Her joy quickly turned to dismay when she learned what Jubilee already knew; Wolverine is a martinet in the Danger Room.

Between missions, Jubilee worked on her house. She found that she loved working on stripping and restoring the delicate mouldings that ran throughout the house. It was not unusual for her to stagger back to the mansion well after midnight having lost track of the time while she worked. Logan finally started going by the house at dinnertime and dragging her out to eat. During one of these forced dinners, the passage of time reared its ugly head.

Logan had taken her to Harry's Hideaway for a dinner of ribs with all the trimmings. Jubilee had always liked Harry's. The food was good and the pool tables were always level. Even the fights that broke out there were fun. Harry had welcomed her back with a hug and a kiss that had Logan growling under his breath.

Logan had gotten them seats at the bar so she could talk to Harry as he worked. She was just finishing her dinner when a young, nubile girl of about eighteen approached Logan and asked him to dance. Jubilee loved to dance with him. He had an excellent sense of rhythm and could make a woman feel like she was dancing on air.

"I'm with someone." he told the girl.

"Her?" the kid scoffed. "She needs to go back to her brood of kids and let the younger generation have some fun."

Jubilee's breath caught in her throat at the girl's words. All her life, she had been thought of as a kid. Even now, some of the X-Men still did not treat her as an adult and here was a girl, over a decade younger than her, telling her she was too old.

Logan, to his credit, sent the girl away with several rude comments about jail bait.

"Don't listen ta her, darlin'." he said in her ear. "Ya ain't old."

"Aren't I?" she asked, staring into her drink. "To her, I am. I'm thirty-one, Wolvie. My life is nearly half over."

"Jubilee," he said in a low tone, "look at me."

She turned and was immediately lost in his eyes.

"I've known ya since ya were thirteen." he said softly. "I've watched ya grow from a gangly kid who was all elbows and knees ta a beautiful woman. No, yer not a girl anymore but why would ya want ta be? When ya were a girl, the only thing ya knew about yerself was that ya were a mutant and wanted ta be with me. The woman ya are knows who she is and what she can do. The girl was wonderful. The woman is awesome. I wouldn't want ya ta be any younger than ya are right now."

She searched his face, her eyes brimming with tears, trying to find the lie. It was not there. A small sob escaped her lips as she threw arms around him.

"I love ya, Jubes." he whispered.

"More than Jean?" she sobbed. "I don't think so."

"Oh, Jubes." he sighed. "Why can't ya believe me?"

"I can't, Wolvie." She pulled back and wiped her eyes. "I can't afford to. I can't let myself get hurt like that ever again."

He cupped her chin in his hand and gently pulled her toward him, lowering his mouth to hers, kissing her, showing her how much he loved her. After an initial start of surprise, she kissed him back. He had to break the kiss before it became too much. He moved his mouth to her ear, licking it lightly.

"I'm gonna find a way ta make ya believe me." he growled, holding her trembling form in his arms.


	13. The First Night

The First Night

Winter was coming and the weather began to reflect that. The trees put on a fashion show of bright color then did a quick strip tease. By the time all of the trees were bare, the weather had turned bitter and the usual winter illness began to make their rounds in the schools. Xavier's was not spared in the attack of the microbes. Mutants are resistant to some diseases but highly susceptible to others. Influenza was one of the worse. The death rate from flu in the mutant population was triple the average for normals. A cold, however, was unheard of in a mutant.

Jubilee woke up dead one Tuesday morning. She rolled over and immediately revised her thinking. She could not be dead. Dead could not hurt as much as she did. Someone had set fire to her tonsils during the night and the smoldering embers remained in the back of her throat. Every time she swallowed, it was like she was trying to choke down shards of glass. She was hot, then she was cold. She kicked her blankets off to cool her body and was immediately hit with a wave of pain as the cool air washed over her skin. Goose bumps rose as she chilled. She grabbed her blanket, wrapped it around her and trudged to the bathroom. She had a class to teach and she needed to get ready.

Two hours later, Mari let herself into her mother's room. Jubilee had not shown up for her class and Mari was worried. She looked around the room, frightened. The bed had not been made and there were clothes scattered all over the floor. Her mother was not a neat housekeeper but she cared for her clothes.

Mari opened the bathroom door and peeked in. Jubilee was lying on the floor, curled up in a ball.

"Mom!" Mari screamed. "Oh, God!" She knelt next to her mother's body and reached out to touch her. Jubilee's skin was so hot that Mari could not keep her hand on it for long.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll get help." She jumped up and ran from the room.

She found Logan sitting in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper.

"Dad!" she yelled as she ran into the room.

"Don't yell, Mari." Logan said with a wince.

"It's Mom." she gasped. "She's sick."

"Where is she" he demanded, leaping from his chair.

"In her bathroom." Mari told him as she led him from the kitchen. "She didn't come to her class and I got worried."

Logan raced by his daughter and ran toward the team quarters, his heart pounding in fear. There had been several cases of flu in the mansion in the past two weeks. One child had died when his flu developed into pneumonia. He could not lose her. He would not allow it.

"She hasn't moved." Mari said with a shaky voice when they entered the bathroom.

"Jubes?" he said softly. She smelled so sick.

"Jubilee?" he called, louder this time. He reached for her and pulled her into his arms, his expression worried.

"Daddy?" Mari said in a tiny voice.

The fear in her voice made Logan gain control over his own fear. "She's gonna be okay, Mari." he told her. "Let's get her ta Hank."

"Strep throat and dehydration." Hank diagnosed several hours later. "I've infused a liter of fluid but her fever is extremely high. Luckily, Jubilation is not allergic to penicillin."

"She's gonna be okay?" Logan asked anxiously.

"She's going to be fine." Hank smiled. "She's going to be ill for a few days but should feel much better soon."

Jubilee remained in the Med-Lab for two days. She left with a two week supply of antibiotics and weak but her fever was gone and her throat felt much better. She returned to her class but Scott took her off the team until she was fully recovered. Logan had tried to tell her she could not work on her house but she just blew a raspberry at him and went on her merry way.

A week later, the master bedroom and bath was finished. On that day, Jubilee threw a small party to celebrate. Mari, Logan, Remy and Rogue were all gathered with her in her empty bedroom, curled up on the floor eating take out Chinese and drinking beer, or in Mari's case, Coke.

"I never believed it could look this good, Jubes." Logan commented as he took in the beautiful, but empty room.

The room had high ceilings with carved plaster crown moldings. Kat had installed wide baseboards all around the large room which made it look a little more homey. One end of the room was anchored by a massive fireplace which had a cheery fire blazing in it. Despite the fire, the room was cold. Everyone sat huddled by the fire, still wrapped in their coats.

Over Logan's objections, Jubilee was planning on staying in the room that night. He expressed concerns that none of the security systems were on line and she would be exposed.

"I'll be fine." she told him as she pulled Bishop's second biggest gun out from under her coat.

"Whoa!" Mari said, impressed. "You really rate!"

"Bishop give ya that?" Rogue asked in awe. Bishop was very protective of his guns. He did not let just anyone borrow one.

"He didn't exactly 'give' it to me." Jubilee admitted.

"He know dat you got it, right?" Remy asked.

"Define 'know'." Jubilee hedged.

"Ya stole one 'o Bishop's guns?" Logan demanded.

"Way ta go, Mom." Mari crowed in delight, grinning from ear to ear

"Mari!" Logan barked. She went silent but continued to smile at her mother.

"He said I could borrow one." Jubilee protested.

"I'll betcha he didn't say ya could borrow _that_ one." Logan countered.

"He didn't say I couldn't." she sad, defensively

"Jubes ..."

"Don't worry, Wolvie." she reassured him. "Bish taught me to shoot, himself. I can handle the gun."

"I ain't worried about that, darlin'." he told her. "Bishop hates fer people touch that gun. He's gonna be pissed."

"I can handle Bishop." Jubilee told him.

"Uh huh." Logan drawled, doubtfully.

"He may yell at me but he won't hurt me."

"He won't hurt her, Logan." Rogue told him.

"Ya sure?"

"Yeah. He likes her. Ah'm sure he won't hurt her."

"Ya ready ta go, chere?" Remy asked his wife.

"Where are you guys going tonight?" Jubilee asked them.

"Rem is takin' me ta the city fer a weekend alone." Rogue told her with a dreamy smile. "It's been too long since we had time fer ourselves."

"We be at de Four Seasons if ya need us." Remy told her as he rose, pulling Rogue to her feet as well.

"I won't." she giggled. "Have a good time."

"Oh, we plan to." Rogue told her. Remy pulled her out of the room, anxious to have her alone.

"C'mon Mari." Logan said as he got to his feet. "It's gettin' late."

"Okay." she said, scrambling to her feet. "Night Mom."

"Night sweetie." Jubilee said as she kissed Mari's cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Are ya sure 'bout this, darlin'?" Logan asked her. "It ain't exactly warm."

"I'll be fine, Wolvie." she told him. "I have plenty of firewood and a pile of blankets. I'll be warm enough."

"Well ..." He really did not want to leave her here by herself.

"Go." she told him, making shooing motions.

"Come on, Dad." Mari said from the door. "I have a physics test tomorrow."

"Call me on my cell if ya need anythin'." he told her.

"Don't worry, Wolvie."

"Can't help it." he said. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll come by in the mornin' ta help ya bring everythin' back to the mansion."

"Okay. Night, Wolvie."

"Night darlin'."

Logan had trouble falling asleep that night. He tossed for several hours before falling into a restless doze.

"Dad." Mari's soft, pleading voice in his ear woke him. It was still dark. His internal clock told him that it was around two in the morning.

"Mari?" He peeled open his gritty eyes to look at the frightened face of his daughter. "What's wrong?"

"Something's wrong with Mom." she said, her eyes moist. "I got this awful feeling and when I tried to call her, she didn't answer her phone."

By now, all thought of sleep had fled from his brain and he sat up. "I looked at the weather station. It's ten degrees outside and there's no heat in the house." Mari sounded terrified.

"Shit!" Logan swore. "Go back ta bed, Mari. I'll go get yer mom."

"I didn't want to wake you but I got so scared." she whimpered.

"I know, kid. Don't worry. I'll take care of her."

"You'll call me?" she asked, her eyes still bright with unshed tears.

"Cells don't work so good when this this cold." he told her. "I'll bring her back, Mari. Trust me."

"Okay." she sniffled.

"Now, out." he ordered. "I gotta get dressed."

She nodded and fled the room.

He dressed quickly, forgoing underwear for the sake of speed. Five minutes later, he was pulling out of the garage in his protesting Jeep and on his way to Jubilee's house.

The house was only five miles from the mansion and the heater in the Jeep did not have enough time to warm the vehicle. By the time he pulled into her driveway, he could not feel his feet, they were so cold. The Jeep died as he was pulling in.

'I'm glad she thought ta lock the door.' he thought as he cut through the brass that secured the house

"Jubilee?" he called as he closed the door. He could smell her. She was still in the house but he could not hear her. He quickly ran up the stairs to her room. She was curled in a ball in front of the fire. He could see her shivering miserably.

"Jubes?" he called again.

"Wolvie?" Her speech was slurred with hypothermia. "So cold."

"I know, darlin'." he said as he lowered his body to the palate beside her. "The Jeep died and I'm sure the Beemer won't start. We're stuck here till it warms up a little."

"Cold." she shivered.

He pulled the blankets off of her and began to remove her clothes.

"Hey!" she protested weakly.

"Gotta get ya warm." he explained as he continued to pull her clothes off. "Skin ta skin is best." When she was naked, he covered her with the blankets and removed his own clothes. He slipped under the blankets and pulled her body to his.

He hissed as her cold skin came in contact with his. "Damn, Jubes. Yer almost frozen."

She burrowed, gratefully, into his warmth and sighed. He was so warm. Gradually, she stopped shivering and fell asleep.

Logan had much more trouble falling asleep. He breasts were pressed against his chest and the tangle of curls that marked her femininity brushed his belly. His body was reacting in a predictable manner. With a great deal of concentration, he was able to ignore the throbbing in his groin and fall asleep.

The dream began as is always did; Jubilee's hot mouth was against his neck, nipping and licking. He moaned as her mouth moved lower, her tongue flicking out to lash his erect nipple. At the same time, her small hand crept up his thigh and wrapped around his hardness. She slowly began to caress him in a maddening rhythm that always made him see double.

The dream continued as he reached for her hips, pulling her close. His fingers lowered to her womanhood, separating the delicate folds. She was so wet, so ready for him. She threw her leg over his hip and guided him to her. He thrust forward, seating himself fully inside her.

"God!" he hissed as he came awake. "Jubes." he moaned.

"Don't stop." she begged, writhing in his arms.

"I can't." he gasped as he began to thrust. "I can't stop!"

He rolled her under him, continuing his powerful, rolling thrusts. He wanted to stay inside her forever. He rose up on his hands and looked at her. Her skin was flush with passion, her breath coming in short gasps. Passion always made a woman more beautiful but Jubilee was glorious. He glanced down to where they were joined. The sight of his manhood plunging in and out of her body was almost enough to make him come. He closed his eyes and thought of Cyke's latest briefing. It was not working. He reach down and found the little nubbin of nerves at the apex of her womanhood and began to massage it in time with his movements.

"Oh!" Jubilee moaned. Her hips slammed upward into his and she froze. He gave the tiny bit of flesh a pinch and she came, shrieking and screaming his name and he was right behind her, coming with a force he had not felt in many years.

He collapsed on her, shaking and exhausted. He had not had an orgasm that powerful since before she left. Gathering the last of his strength, he rolled to his back and settled her on his chest. Making sure the blankets covered her, he fell into an exhausted sleep.

Jubilee woke the next morning in a panic. 'What have I done?' she asked herself. 'What is he going to think?'

She did not need to wonder for long. After she dressed and cleaned up the room, she found her car missing, along with Logan. Kat and the workmen denied seeing him and Mari told her he was not in the mansion.

Jubilee felt horrible. He had made love to her. And then, he left her.


	14. The Morning and days After

The Morning (and days) After

Jubilee found Logan's keys on the mantle in the living room. Snatching them up, she stormed out of the house and convinced the Jeep to start. She was not cold on the drive to the mansion. She had her anger to keep her warm.

Emma was pouring her first cup of coffee when Jubilee stormed into the kitchen. She jumped when the door slammed behind her former student, splashing hot coffee onto her arm.

"Jubilee!" she cried. "That was uncalled for."

"I hate him! I hate him! I hate him!" she screamed. She had checked his room and found his travel bag and a good number of his clothes gone. She was devastated and extremely angry.

"Oh, bugger." Betsy complained as she entered the kitchen. "What's he done now?"

"Having an argument with Logan does not entitle you to slam the doors." Emma admonished.

"We didn't have an argument." Jubilee snarled. "We made love."

"Oh, goodie!" Betsy crowed as she perched on a stool at the island. "Spill!"

"It was incredible," Jubilee admitted, "but that's not the problem."

"So you had a night of wild sex. What could be the problem?" Emma asked.

"He's gone."

"What do you mean 'gone'?" Betsy asked, concerned.

"Just that. He's gone." Jubilee told her as she sat on the stool beside her. "I had a mind altering orgasm and fell asleep. When I woke up, he was gone and so was my car. No note. No nothing. Just ... gone." Tears were racing each other down her cheeks. "How could I have been so stupid?" she wailed.

Emma looked at the coffee she had just poured, thinking. Making her decision, she walked over to a side cabinet and unlocked it. She poured a large measure of brandy into the coffee and placed it before Jubilee.

"Drink up, ducks." Betsy told her. "I'll help you feel better."

Jubilee took a sip and choked.

"I'm sorry." Emma said as she patted Jubilee's back. "I though you would be used to brandy."

"I am." Jubilee croaked, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I have strep throat. Oh, hell! I forgot my pills. I gotta go see Hank before class and get some more."

Emma and Betsy watched as she left the kitchen.

"Retail therapy?" Betsy asked.

"At the very least." Emma agreed. "How could he do this to her?"

"He's a man, Emma. His first instinct is self preservation. Jubilee finally gave into him and he panicked."

"You, me or both?" Emma asked, still staring at the closed door.

"Both, I think." Betsy said. "She's going to be pretty weepy for a while. I don't much like you but I can't let you shoulder the brunt of her emotions on your own."

"You misunderstand me, Psylocke." Emma said. "Which one of us is going to kill the wild man?"

"Oh! I'm not so sure we should do that." Betsy said. "He's one hell of a lay. I'd hate to take that much talent out of commission permanently."

"If he and Jubilee get back together, he'll be out of commission, anyway."

"But he at least needs to produce a son." Betsy reasoned. "He needs to pass on all that delicious talent. The women of the future will praise us, endlessly."

Emma shrugged. "I bow to your superior knowledge." she said. "I've never had him, myself but I've heard stories."

"All true, darling." Betsy told her. "All true. So, the mall this afternoon?"

"Good lord, no!" Emma scoffed, appalled. "I wouldn't be caught dead in a mall and neither should Jubilee. We'll go to the city."

Emma and Betsy grabbed her as she left her basic Algebra class behind her students.

"But I want to work on the stairs today." she protested.

"Not today." Emma insisted. "It will still be there tomorrow but today, you need female companionship."

"Kat's a woman." Jubilee said as they pulled her to the waiting limousine.

"Kat's a barracuda." Betsy snarled. The lavender haired telepath hated Kat with a passion. The busty blond had tried to seduce Warren right in front of his jealous wife. It fell to Betsy, who was in the next room, to pull a furious Paige off the contractor before she killed her. Betsy may not get along all that well with Paige but Warren had made his choice and she respected it. However, no one was going to butt in on the marriage of a friend if she had anything to say about it.

Jubilee surprised herself and had a good time shopping with Emma and Betsy. She spent more money than she should have but what she found was flattering and needed. She returned to the mansion with her arms piled high with bags and boxes. As she made her way to her room, she met Kat leaving Bobby's room. She dropped her packages off in her room and banged on Iceman's door.

A bleary eyed Bobby opened the door.

"That's some serious bed-head you got going there, Drake." Jubilee said.

"Whatcha want?" he mumbled.

"You sleeping with my contractor?" she asked.

"We didn't sleep," he yawned, "but I'd sure like to now."

Jubilee cocked her head in question.

"Look, Jubes." Bobby sighed. "She's been a pain in your ass since she got here. I saw your face when she came on to Logan and I heard what she did to Warren and Paige. The only reason she didn't go after Gambit is 'cause Rogue told her that if she tried anything, she'd touch her. Emma watches Scott like a hawk and Hank doesn't care for bold women. I'm the only one left so I figured I'd make the sacrifice and screw her."

"Sacrifice?" she giggled.

"Well, not much of one." he said, blushing.

"Bobby, I don't mind if you sleep with Kat, just not on my time. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure, Jubes." He yawned, hugely. "I'm goin' back to bed. Night, shrimp."

"Night, Bobby."

When Jubilee went back to her room to put away her purchases, her mind wandered to Logan. The last night had brought back memories for her, both sweet and bittersweet. Last night was like a homecoming for her. He felt so right, so comforting. When she woke and found his naked body pressed closed to hers, she lost control, completely. And, lord, he was so good! He always could make her body sing but last night, she sang and danced. She remembered drifting off to sleep lying on his chest, warm and feeling safer than she had been in years. She pulled out her cell phone and looked at it. She could call him now and demand answers. She could tell him how angry she was, how hurt.

Anger began to build. 'He left me.' she thought. 'He promised me he wouldn't but he did.' The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. With a building scream, she whirled and threw her phone against the wall, smashing it with a totally unsatisfying crunch. The lamp was next. And the mirror, the chair, the table. The sound of thumps and shattering glass could be heard down the hall.

"Aw, bloody hell!" Betsy swore as she was getting ready for her date. She threw her robe on and shoved her feet into a handy pair of shoes before running out of the room. Mari beat her to Jubilee's room.

"Mom?" Mari asked in a small, frightened voice. Jubilee was sitting on the floor amid the wreckage, sobbing in pain.

"He's gone!" Jubilee wailed. "He left me."

Mari made her way through the debris to her mother's side and stooped.

"What happened?" she asked, concerned.

"Logan." Jubilee sniffled. "He left. Oh, God! Why did he do this to me?"

"Dad?" Mari asked, surprised. "What did he do? Where did he go?"

"No one knows where he went, Mari." Emma said from the door. A crowd had gathered outside the door.

"He'll be back, though." she said.

"I don't know." Emma admitted.

Mari jumped up and ran from the room.

"Storm, follow her." Scott told the weather goddess. "Stay with her and make sure she's okay."

Ororo nodded and ran after Mari.

Betsy telekinetically swept the worst of the debris to the side of the room and went over to Jubilee. She sat on the floor and gathered the weeping woman into her arms. "It's okay, darling." she crooned. "We'll take care of you."

"Scott, call Gambit and ask him to come home." Emma told her husband.

When Remy and Rogue returned to the mansion, Jubilee was in the Med-Lab under sedation.

"What happened?" Remy demanded. Betsy, who was keeping watch, answered.

"She slept with Logan last night." she explained. "This morning, he was gone."

"Gone?" Remy asked. "Where'd he go?"

"No one is sure where he went." Hank said as he came in the room. "Poor Jubilation is devastated."

"Mari was concerned when she felt her mother was in trouble and she couldn't get ahold of her by phone." Betsy told them. "She woke up Logan and he went over to the house. Evidently, things progressed from there and they had sex but when Jubilee woke this morning, he was gone."

"Ah'll kill him." Rogue hissed.

"Ya ain't invulnerable no more, chere." Remy reminded her. "'Sides, ya gotta wait in line. De p'tite get de first shot, den Gambit." he snarled.

"It doesn't matter much." Hank told them. "We have no idea where he is."

"How's Mari doin'?" Rogue asked.

"That's another thing." Hank said. "She called Sabretooth. He's coming."

"Lovely." Betsy said, shaking her head.

"He ain't comin'." a growling voice said from the door. "He's here."

Sabretooth marched into the Med-Lab with long strides. Scott Summers was forced to trot to keep up with him. He stopped at Jubilee's bed, his face unreadable.

"She gonna be okay?" he asked.

"Physically, yes." Hank answered.

"He say why he did it?"

"We don't know where he is so we can't ask him." Scott said.

"He's in Japan." Creed told them.

"How would you know?" Rogue demanded.

"I always know where the Runt is, frail." he growled. "Where's Mari?"

"I'll take you to her." Scott told him.

Creed refused to remain in the house, even with Mari begging him. He set up camp in the woods but was a frequent presence in the mansion, hovering over Mari. The children were wary around Logan but Creed scared them spitless. Mari was grateful for his presence. Several of the older, more powerful students had been bullying her all year. They were too afraid of Creed to continue picking on her.

There was one incident that changed their relationship completely. Remy and Creed had been having a battle of insults for two days when Creed could not tolerate it any longer and attacked. Mari had been near when he suddenly flew at the tall thief. She could not describe later what she did but she stopped the huge feral in his tracks. Creed knew exactly what she did. He had not had that feeling in many years.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Vic." Mari cried as she stood over him. "I just didn't want you to hurt Mr. LeBeau."

"Ya didn't hurt me, kid." he said with a goofy grin. "It felt good."

"Huh?"

"Birdy use ta do that fer me when I got too wild fer her." He explained as he sat up. "I call it 'the glow'."

"What happened?"

"Ya grabbed the animal side 'o me and slapped it." he told her. "I don't know why but it feels good."

"You mean I can do this 'glow'?" she asked.

"Better 'n Birdy could." he told her, getting up and brushing off his clothes. "C'mon, kid. Let's go get somethin' ta eat then ya gotta get back ta class."

Gambit watched them leave, shaking his head. "Dis not good." he muttered to himself. "Better get back soon, homme. Sabretooth takin' yer fille."

Four days after he left, Logan called the mansion but Jubilee refused to speak to him. Scott spoke with him but all Logan would say was that he was in Japan, taking care of some personal business. He continued to call every three days and Jubilee continued to refuse to talk to him. Whenever his name was brought up, she would run from the room in tears. The team quickly learned not to mention him in her presence.

Vic and Mari grew closer in Logan's absence which alarmed everyone. Scott and Emma watched with growing horror when Creed continued the training Logan had started. Something would have to be done, and quickly. Mari and Creed were brought in for a 'discussion'. They had asked Jubilee to be present but she said that she had already talked with Mari about Creed and it did not go well. She wanted Mari to be calm enough to listen to reason and if her mother were present, Mari would close her mind to them. She wished them luck but did not attend the meeting.

"Mari," Scott started, "we are concerned about your relationship with Sabretooth. I realize that you care for him and are reluctant to distance yourself from him but we cannot not approve of this. He is a danger to the school."

"Sabretooth ... Victor ..." Emma said, "you know what you are. Inside of you is the man who cares for Mari. Do you believe that your presence is in her best interest? You take a great risk remaining in one place for any length of time. What would happen if the authorities discover your presence here and come for you? Are you willing to risk Mari's safety to stay close to her?"

"I don't want him to go." Mari whimpered, close to tears. She knew that Victor could not stay but she had been hoping and praying that he would.

"He's wanted all over the world, Mari." Scott said softly. "He's a danger to you and to the other children at the school."

"Daddy left me." she whispered. "I can't lose Victor too."

Scott knelt beside her chair and took her hand in his. "Your father's not gone forever, sweetheart. He always comes back, no matter what. He had things he needed to take care of in Japan but he'll be back."

"You've been rather quiet, Creed." Emma said. "What are your thoughts?"

He looked up at Emma. He hated that they were right. Every day that he remained in one place increased the likelihood that someone would recognize him and turn him in. He did not care that they would come after him. He could take care of himself but Mari could be hurt or, God forbid, killed.

"They're right, pup." he said roughly. "I came 'cause yer dad left but I can't stay."

"No! I don't want you to go!" she sobbed.

He pulled her from the chair and settled her on his lap. "I know ya don't." he said resting his chin on her head. "But they're right. I can't stay here. They're gonna come after me sooner or later and if they find out what ya mean ta me, they'll try ta grab ya too. I can't risk yer safety, Mari."

He stood and set her into his chair, kneeling in front of her. He took her chin in his hand and gently forced her to look at him. "Yer gonna be fine, pup." he told her gently. "Ya got my number and ya can call me anytime ya want but I can't come back here. Too many people know how I feel 'bout the X-Men and might hang around here, waitin' fer me ta show up. I can't let ya get hurt 'cause of me."

He kissed her forehead and stood. "Keep her safe, boy, or I'll find ya and gut ya." he growled at Scott. It was a very mild threat, coming from him.

"You have my word on it." Scott promised.

Three weeks after her father left, Mari was finally able to convinced Jubilee to talk to Logan. She really did not want to but Mari had been feeling so depressed since Creed's departure that she had trouble denying her anything.

"I know yer mad at me, Jubes but I need yer help." he said. Something in his voice made her sit up and pay attention.

"Wolvie?" she asked. "What happened?"

"Amiko made me a grandpa two weeks ago. A boy." he told her.

'Why does his voice sound so full of pain?' she thought. "Congratulations." she said.

"The baby was three months early, Jubes. It don't look good."

She was so shocked that she could not speak.

"I don't know what ta say ta her. I can't comfort her." he said sadly. "Please Jubes. I need yer help."

"I'll be there as soon as I can." she told him. "Don't worry, Wolvie. I'm coming."

She hung up the phone and ran to Scott's office. "I need a leave of absence." she announced as she burst into the room. "Can you and Emma take care of Mari until I get back?"

Scott looked up from his paperwork, surprised. No one barged into his office without knocking, not even Emma.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Japan." she told him. "Wolvie needs me."

"Jubilee ..."

"I know why he left and he had a good reason." Jubilee said. "I'm still mad but he needs me now."

"Are you sure about this?"

"He needs me Scott." she told him "And Amiko needs me."

"Amiko?"

"She had a very premature baby two weeks ago. Wolvie said it doesn't look like the baby is going to live."

"But you hate Amiko."

"I'm not fond of her but the baby is Wolvie's grandson. I can't let him be alone if his grandson dies."

"When will you be back?"

"I don't know." she said as she headed out of the door. "I'll call you when I get there."


	15. Truce

Truce

By the time Jubilee landed in Japan and made her way the hospital, it was early evening the next day. Yukio met her near the intensive care unit, her eyes filled with pain.

"Yukio!" Jubilee called to the older woman.

"Jubilee?" Yukio gasped. "I am so glad you are here."

"What happened?"

"Amiko's baby has died." Yukio informed her, tears filling her eyes. "I cannot find Logan. He left after the doctor told us."

"How's Amiko?"

"Her husband is with her. They gave her something to make her sleep."

"Is she going to be okay?"

"She has her husband." Yukio said, sniffling. "And me. She will be fine but I am worried about Logan. He had a strange look on his face when he left."

"Where did he go?" Jubilee asked, worried.

"I do not know." Yukio whispered.

Jubilee thought for a moment. "I think I may know." she said slowly.

The Yashida clan compound stood on the eastern coast of Japan. The house, proper, was within sight of a rocky beach. The land had been in the Yashida family for centuries but the building was fairly new. Logan would have been master of the house had he married Mariko and Jubilee knew he was still drawn there. Mariko was buried there. When he needed peace, he went there either physically or in his mind. Jubilee knew he would go there and he did. Unfortunately, he did not stay there.

She stood on a balcony overlooking the beach watching the small, still form on the rocks below. "How long has he been there?" she asked Kenuichio Harada, also known as the Silver Samurai, now head of the Yashida clan.

"He arrived three hours ago." he told her. "He stopped and prayed briefly at Mariko's grave then went to the beach. He has not moved since. What has happened? I have never seen him look like this before."

"His grandson died." she murmured. "I'm going down there."

"It is too cold to be near the water." he protested. "You will become ill."

"I'll be fine."

Logan was in such pain that he could no longer feel anything else. Why did such awful things happen to the people he loved? Why was it so hard to find peace? He was kneeling on the rocks, the naked Clan Yashida honor blade across his thighs. He looked dispassionately at the gleaming metal. It had started with Mariko. She had given him the blade as a token of her love for him. It was not long after that she had been poisoned and begged him to take her life so she would not suffer. He still saw the stain of her blood on his hands.

Mariko, Silver Fox, Jean, his grandson Yoshi. All dead now and all people he allowed himself to love. Yoshi was just the latest in a long line of the dead. His greatest fear was that Jubilee or Mari would join the line. If that happened, he would find some way to be with them. He could not go on without them. The pain would be too great.

Jubilee made her way down to the beach making as much noise as she could. The wind was coming off the ocean so Logan would not be able to smell her but with the noise she was making, he would hear her. She purposely stumbled and swore softly, knowing he would hear and know she was approaching his back.

She stopped ten feet behind him and just looked at him. She recognized the sword in his lap. God! She hated that sword. She knew how much it meant to Logan but every time she saw it, something bad happened.

"Logan?" she called softly.

The muscles of his back tightened so she knew he heard her.

"I need to say something." she said, gathering her thoughts. "You hurt me. You left me and didn't tell me where you were going, even after you promised you wouldn't. But worse than that, I hurt you. I rejected you when you needed me most. My only defense is fear and pride. I never considered your other commitments when I made you promise not to leave and I should have. I'm sorry, Logan. Sorry I hurt you and sorry I wasn't there when you needed me."

"I'm sorry, too, darlin'." he said softly.

She went to his side and sat on the ground, pulling her knees to her chest. She did not speak. She knew he needed to work his grief through and he would usually do so silently. But she also knew that he would not display his grief. She needed to bring it out of him before it festered and destroyed him so she waited. She had been sitting there for five minutes before she heard him take a deep, shaky breath.

"Yoshi didn't have a chance." he said roughly. "He didn't have the chance ta learn how ta walk and run. Or throw a baseball. Ta argue with Amiko and Kato. I never got the chance ta take him campin' or fishin'." He cleared his throat. "It ain't fair."

"Life isn't fair, Logan." she said, looking out on the cold water. "If life was fair, my parents wouldn't have been killed and we woulda never met." She was silent for a while, allowing him to think. "The death of a child is always a tragedy. When it's your child or the child of someone you know and love, it's worse. All we can do is grieve and go on, a little richer and a little poorer."

She turned and looked at him. "What you're feeling isn't wrong or shameful, Logan. It's honest emotion. Yoshi was your grandson and you have the right to feel the way you do."

She scooted closer to him and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him to her. He lay down with his head in her lap, sighing shakily. She stroked his ear lightly.

"Let yourself grieve, Logan." she told him, softly. "I won't think any less of you because you show that you loved Yoshi."

Logan laid there for ten minutes and quietly wept. When the tears finally stopped, he discovered that he felt better. He sighed deeply, rubbing his cheek on her warm, wet thigh.

"Ya know yer pregnant, don't ya?" he said, breathing in her sweet scent.

"Yeah." she sighed. "I kinda figured that. I've been sick in the morning for three days and I missed my period."

He ran his finger down her thigh. Just being with her made him feel better. "What are ya gonna do?" he asked quietly.

She did not answer right away. She continued to stroke his hair and ear, thinking. What she wanted to say would surprise him.

"When I found out I was pregnant with Mari, I was so scared." she told him. "I wanted to call you and tell you but I was afraid you wouldn't care. I wasn't Jean and she was the one you wanted to give you children so I mushed on and had my baby alone. I went through the awful morning sickness alone and I went through the wonderful feeling of having her move inside me alone. Twenty-seven hours of labor, all alone. The colic, the diaper rash; alone. I didn't see her first steps. She was at day care. A private sitter taught her how to ride a bike and Rollerblade. Until I was twenty-five and got control of Aunt Hope's money, I was so busy building my business and supporting my child that I didn't have time to be there for her. The hardest job I ever had was raising Mari by myself. I can't do that alone again."

He sat up and looked at her in alarm. What was she saying?

"Stay with me, Logan." she whispered. "I'm not Jean but I'll take care of you and our children. You don't have to marry me, just be there for me"

He reached out with a shaky hand and brushed her hair away from her eyes giving her a relieved smile. "I'll stay with ya, Jubes. I want ta marry ya but I won't until ya believe me when I say I don't love Jean anymore."

"I don't know what you can do to make me believe, Logan." she said.

"We'll figure it out together." He pulled her into his arms and just held her, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. "Are ya okay?" he asked, anxiously, holding her away from him and looking her over, carefully. "Ya shouldn't have come out here in this cold. I don't want ya gettin' sick. Yer pregnant, fer Pete's sake."

"I'm fine, Logan." she said with a smile. Once and overprotective man, always an overprotective man. "I would like to get warm, though. It's cold out here."

Grabbing his sword, he replaced it in the scabbard. He scrambled to his feet, reached down and pulled her to her feet.

"Hold this." he told her, thrusting the covered sword in her arms.

She had no choice but to wrap her arms around the awful sword. "I hate this thing, Logan." she admitted.

"I know ya do, darlin'," he said as he swept her into his arms. "When we get home, I'll put it away."

"Put me down." she protested. "I'm pregnant, not sick."

"Yer pregnant with my kid." he growled, walking swiftly back to the house. "Humor me, Jubes. I didn't get ta do this the first time."

"Are you going to be like this the whole time I'm pregnant?" she asked.

"My grandson was born way too early, Jubilee, and he died." he snarled. "I ain't gonna let that happen ta this baby."

"You're not God, Logan. If something happens, there's not much you can do."

"Amiko was shoved out of a subway car and her water broke when she fell." he told her. "I coulda been with her ta protect her."

"Logan," Jubilee sighed, "there's one constant in our lives: Shit happens. You know it. I know it. Amiko knows it. You can't stop fate."

"Maybe, but I'm gonna do my damnedest to keep anythin' from happenin' ta you or this baby." he swore. "I ain't goin' through that again."

He continued to carry her up the path to the house and a thought struck, stopping him cold.

"Wait a minute." he growled. "What do ya mean I didn't tell ya where I was goin'? I left a note beside my keys tellin' ya I had ta go to Japan and I'd call in a coulpa days."

"I found the keys, thanks so much for stealing my car, by the way, but there wasn't a note there."

They looked at each other, thinking.

"Kat?" Jubilee asked.

"Kat." he agreed.

"Has to be." Jubilee said as he continued to walk. "None of the workmen finds you remotely sexy."

"Ya got the right ta belt her one now." Logan said smugly.

"It depends on how things are going with her and Bobby." she told him.

"Popsicle?" he asked, astounded.

"She's been staying in his room since you left."

"I guess I should be thankful that he's distractin' her but I'm havin' trouble seein' it."

Kenuichio Harada met them when they returned to the house. Logan immediately began to growl at him. The Silver Samurai and Logan had never gotten on well and now that he had to protect Jubilee and his unborn child, his natural reaction was to warn all other males off.

"Stop it, Logan." Jubilee hissed, punctuating her words with a sharp elbow in the ribs.

Kenuichio ignored Wolverine's growls and spoke to Jubilee.

"Yukio called." he told her. "The funeral will be tomorrow. You are both welcome to stay in the compound as long as you wish."

"Thank you, Kenuichio." Jubilee said, bowing to him.

Kenuichio turned to Logan. "My condolences for your loss, Logan." he said with a very low bow. "Your pain must be unfathomable."

Logan's mouth tightened into a thin line. With a curt nod, he turned and walked away, heading for the guest quarters.

"He doesn't mean to be rude, Kenuichio." Jubilee apologized.

"He is in great pain." he said. "I understand." He turned to a servant and nodded. "Your meal will be brought to your suite. I must return to the city."

"Thanks for your hospitality." she said as they bowed to each other.

Jubilee and Logan were given a spacious, two bedroom suite in the guest quarters. By mutual accord, they each chose a room. Neither felt they were ready to begin a sexual relationship yet, even though they were going to become parents again. There was too much they had left unsaid.

Jubilee knocked on his door when the food had been delivered. "Logan?" she called. "Dinner's here." His room was empty.

She found him in the small, sheltered garden below his room. He was just sitting there on a bench, his eyes closed. She knelt beside him and placed her hand on his knee. He gently grasped her hand in his and smiled.

"I met Mariko here." he said softly.

"Memories?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Most of 'em good."

She waited for him to speak again. When he did not, she spoke up. "Why are you here, Logan?"

He opened his eyes and looked at her, studying her. His other hand came up and stroked her cheek as he leaned forward and kissed her. "I'm sayin' good-bye ta Mariko." he whispered.

"Logan ..."

"Mariko is my past, just like Jean is my past. I loved both of 'em but they're dead now. I love ya, Jubes. I can't say I'm gonna be perfect but I'll do my best ta make ya happy."

"And when Jean rises from the dead again?" she asked. "Scott's with Emma now and she'll be free. I couldn't take it if you left me to be with her or worse; fantasized about being with her again. I went through that once, Logan. I won't go through it again."

Logan sighed in frustration. How was he going to convince her that he loved her and had since before Jean had been killed? He did not have a lot of patience and in choosing a mate, patience was essential. It would be hard enough under normal circumstances but now, she was pregnant. How was he going to convince her that he wanted her because he loved her, not because she was pregnant with his child? Jubilee had been taught from an early age not to trust anyone but she had always trusted him. In crying the name of another woman during a moment of passion, he had destroyed that trust.

"Gimme a chance, Jubes." he begged. "I don't know how ta prove it to ya but I love ya."

"I'll take it day by day." she told him. "You said you'd stay with me and help raise our children so you'll have plenty of time to prove to me that you love me."

"That's all I ask." he said.

The next morning, Logan and Jubilee stood together beside Yoshi's open grave, dressed in stark white kimono's. They were two of the few who dressed traditionally. Amiko, Yukio and Kato were dressed in black.

Jubilee gave Amiko a comforting hug before leaving her alone with Logan.

"How are ya doin'?" he asked her as he held her close.

"It hurts so bad." she whispered.

"I know it does, darlin'." he said. "A very wise woman told me that it'll get better with time."

"I feel like I failed Kato." she sniffled.

"He loves ya, Amiko." he told her. "Ya need ta hang on ta him. He lost his son and he's hurtin too."

"Amiko?" Kato said from behind her.

"Go ta yer husband, girl." he murmured into her ear. "He needs ya."

She nodded against his shoulder and stepped back. She looked at him, love and pain shining in her eyes, and smiled sadly. "Don't wait for another tragedy to come back." she ordered. "You and Jubilee are always welcome in our home."

"We'll come visit after the baby's born." he told her.

"Baby?"

"Yeah." he said. He could not help a small smile of pride. "Jubes is havin' my baby ta add to the daughter she gave me twelve years ago."

"I'm glad." she told him. "You need someone to take care of you."

"We'll take care of each other."

Amiko walked over to her husband and kissed him. "Be well, Logan." she called over her shoulder.

"Take care 'o her." he told Kato.

The young man nodded. "I will." he promised.

He felt Jubilee's arm go around his waist as he watched them leave.

"Are they going to be aright?" she asked.

"Yeah." he said. "They have enough love ta survive this. They're gonna be fine."

He turned and pulled her into his arms and buried his nose in her hair. Her scent surrounded and calmed him.

"Let's go home, Logan." she said. "I need to see Mari."

"Me too, darlin'. Me too."


	16. Home Again

Home Again

Flying a commercial airline with Logan is always a trial. Even with fake cards from prosthetic joint manufacturers and one that indicated that he had a metal plate in his head, security always felt the need to strip search him. Logan had become used to this kind of treatment over the years but Jubilee was incensed.

"It's not fair, Wolvie." she ground out as they took their seats.

"Yer the one that told me life ain't fair, Jubes." he told her. "It don't bother me anymore. After the shit that happened at the World Trade Center, I let 'em do whatever they want."

"But still--" she complained.

"Drop it." he told her. "It ain't worth gettin' pissed off about."

The engine volume increased as the plane taxied to the runway. Logan winced in pain. He hated flying commercial. The Blackbird had much quieter engines.

"Oh!" Jubilee suddenly bent down and grabbed her carry-on. "I forgot." She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a large plastic bag. "Here." She shoved the bag into his hand.

He opened the bag to find a set of noise canceling headphones. He placed them on his head and immediately, the volume dropped to bearable.

"Yer the greatest." he said with a huge smile.

"Told you I'd take care of you." she said, smugly.

When the plane reached cruising altitude, Logan lifted the armrest and pulled her into his arms.

"Go ta sleep, darlin'." he told her. "It's a long flight."

She snuggled into his arms and quickly fell asleep. Logan tried to stay awake but he had not slept well for weeks and quickly followed her into dreamland. He woke when she poked him in the chest with a hard finger.

"Lemme up!" she said in a strangled voice. She was very pale.

"Jubes?"

"Lemme up!" she repeated. "Hurry!"

He followed her as she dashed down the isle and into the mid-deck head. He stood outside the door, listening to her retch, feeling a little queasy himself.

"Air sickness or morning sickness?" the flight attendant asked from the galley.

"Mornin'. Is it supposed ta be this bad?" he asked, worried.

"It was when I was pregnant with my son." she told him. "I spent three months leaning over a toilet. It's gets better though. She should start feeling better by her fourth month."

"Jeez! We just found out!"

"The next few months aren't going to be much fun for either of you." she told him, sympathetically. "Your first?"

"Second." he said without thinking.

"Well, then you've been through this before."

"Not really." he told her.

The head door opened and Jubilee walked out on wobbly legs.

"Ya okay, Jubes?" he asked.

"I'll be fine, Logan." she said, her voice shaky.

"Take her back to your seats." the flight attendant instructed. "I'll bring some crackers and tea."

"Thanks." Jubilee said with a weak smile.

The remainder of the flight was quite pleasant, thanks to Teruko, the flight attendant. She kept Jubilee supplied with tea and crackers until she thought she was going to burst. The only iffy moment she had was when Logan dove into his rare steak. Teruko let her stay with her in the galley while Logan ate.

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"Uncle Steven!" Mari yelled as she threw herself into the tall mans arms. "I'm so glad you're back. How did the job go?"

"Hey, squirt." he said as he hugged her, lifting her off the floor. "How are ya doing?"

"Not too bad." she said as she slid to the floor. "Homework's kinda harder now but It'll get better soon."

"Where's your mom?" he asked looking around.

"In Japan. Dad had some problem that he needed her help with."

"Dad?" he said, eyes wide with surprise. "Dad? Who is this 'Dad'?"

"You weren't here?" she asked. "Yeah. Wolvierine's my dad. He kinda disappeared a few weeks ago. Five days ago, he called and talked to Mom. She left about an hour later. Mr. Summers said she went to Japan to help Dad with something."

"He's been here all this time?" Steven demanded.

"Yeah." she said with an angry scowl. "I was kinda pissed when I found out, too."

"Mari," Scott Summers interrupted, "your father called from the airport. They should be home in about an hour."

"Thanks Mr. Summers." she said.

"Why can't you call me Uncle Scott?" he sighed.

"I just can't." she said, looking at her feet. She glanced up at Scott, her eyes miserable and ran off to the dorm.

"I still don't understand why." Scott mumbled.

"She doesn't want to be set apart from the other students." Steven guessed. "She never did like to stand out in a crowd. I think having her call you 'Uncle' would set her so far apart from the others that she would feel uncomfortable."

"She's the daughter of two of my closest friends." Scott grumbled. "If she had been born here, like she should have been, she would be calling me 'Uncle' or 'Scott'."

"But she wasn't." Steven reminded him. "I have some drawings for Jubilee. Will you have her call me when she get home?"

"Yeah, sure." Scott sighed. "She seems to be more interested in her house than the team anyway."

"I'll be at the Best Western."

"Why don't you stay at the mansion? We have lots of room."

"Not to insult you or anything but this place is too weird for me. Last time I stayed here, my sheets were frozen solid and the floor was covered with pin feathers and I'm allergic to feathers. I kept getting knocked down by people flying over my head. I'm six-five. There's not much clearance over my head. Then there was the sound barrage I got when I went into the kitchen for coffee in the morning. I was deaf for days."

"That was kinda your own fault." Scott reminded him. "You should have put your pants on."

"I was mostly asleep until Teresa screamed." He objected. "If you don't mind, I'd rather stay at a hotel."

"Suit yourself." Scott said with a shrug. "I'll let Jubilee know where you are."

It took Jubilee and Logan considerably longer to get home than Scott had predicted. Logan had refused to drive faster than fifty miles per hour on the interstate. By the time they got home, Jubilee was ready to strangle him.

"I ain't riskin' anythin', Jubes." he growled as they came in from the garage. He at least let her walk into the house on her own but not without an argument.

They were met by Scott rushing through the kitchen.

"Blackbird, now!" he shouted as he ran by them.

"A mission?" Jubilee asked excitedly.

"Ya can't go, Jubes." Logan growled.

"Why not?" Scott demanded. "We can use her."

"She's pregnant." Logan told him.

Scott's face immediately turned thunderous. "You son of a bitch!" he yelled. "You got her pregnant again?" His fist flew at Logan, catching him on the jaw.

Logan's head snapped back with the force of the blow. "Hey!" he cried. "What was that for?"

"Scott! Stop!" Jubilee cried.

"You just couldn't keep your dick in your pants, could you?" Scott snarled. "You had to seduce her again."

"He didn't seduce me, Scott." Jubilee told him sternly. "I seduced him."

"Bull shit! He wants you to think that."

"I'm not going to discuss this with you, Scott. What happened between Wolvie and me is our business, not yours."

"What happened DOES concern me and this team. We'll discuss this later." He stomped out of the kitchen heading for the hanger.

"I don't need ya ta defend me, Jubes." Logan growled angrily. "I don't justify myself ta anyone."

"Shut up, Logan. Just, get out. Go on the mission."

"Why the hell are ya mad at me?" he demanded.

"You'd never understand. Just go, Wolvie. I'll see you when you get back."

"I don't like leavin' ya here. Ya need someone ta protect ya."

"You're treading on thin ice, Wolverine." she said, her eyes narrow in ire. "I can protect myself and I'm sure there will be other adult mutants here. Go before you say something that really pisses me off."

"Alright." he gave in gracelessly. "I'll go. This is fer Mari." he said, kissing her on the cheek. "And this is fer you." He captured her lips in a soft kiss. Then he was gone.

'I wish he'd quit doing that.' Jubilee thought, confused. He made it very difficult for her to stick to her decision not to get involved with him again. She did not regret asking him to stay with her and help raise their children. She needed him, but she did not think it would be a good idea to let him back into her bed. She admitted to herself that she still loved him but if she opened her heart to him again, he could destroy her completely.

"Hey Mom." Mari called from the door. "When did you get back?"

"Just now, sweetie." she said, kissing her daughters cheek. "That was from your dad and this is from me." She kissed the other cheek.

"Where'd he go?"

"Mission. He'll be back soon. Can you take my suitcase to my room?"

"Sure." Mari said picking up the suitcase. "Uncle Steven stopped by today. He's staying in a hotel."

"I guess he didn't appreciate Bobby's idea of a joke." Jubilee said, following Mari up the steps.

"It wasn't just Mr. Drake. Everyone got in on the action, even Teresa."

"Figures." Jubilee said as she unlocked her door. "Is he staying at the Best Western?"

"I don't think he knows any other hotel chain." Mari said as she lifted the suitcase onto the bed. "Did you bring anything back for me?"

"I'm sorry sweetie." Jubilee apologized. "I didn't get a chance to shop."

"What happened?" Mari asked, sitting on the bed.

Jubilee sighed and sat down beside her. "Your dad has a foster daughter in Japan named Amiko. She had a baby two weeks ago that was born three months early, a boy. The baby died."

"Oh, man." Mari whispered. "His first grandkid, right?"

"Yeah."

"How'd he take it?"

"Pretty hard."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Give him some time." Jubilee told her, brushing her hair out of her face and looking at her daughter. "I need to tell you something."

"You and Dad are back together?" Mari asked, excitedly.

"Well, no. Not really."

"Damn!"

"Mari!" Jubilee said, shocked.

"Sorry. So what is it?"

"I'm going to have a baby."

"Really?" Mari shrieked.

"In about seven and a half months." Jubilee confirmed.

"How could you?" Mari demanded. "Now everyone will know my mom has sex."

"I didn't plan this, Mari."

"But you're too old for sex."

"Says who?"

"You're thirty-one, Mom." Mari reminded her in that aggravated adolescent tone again.

"So?"

"Don't you think that's a little old to be acting like that?" Now she sounded like a chaperon who caught her charge misbehaving.

"I'm not dead, Mari." Jubilee scowled. "It doesn't matter anyway. The baby's coming."

"So, who's the lucky father this time?" Mari asked with a sneer.

Jubilee's hand flashed out so fast that she never saw it until it connected with Mari's cheek with a ringing slap. "How dare you?" Jubilee hissed angrily.

Mari cried out in surprise. Jubilee had never struck her before.

"Get out, Mari." Jubilee growled. Mari fled the room, passing Emma in the hall.

Jubilee sat down on the bed, her heart pounding with anger. Slapping Mari had been a knee jerk response and she regretted it now. She never thought she was capable of striking her own child but Mari had never made her this angry before.

"I don't think I've ever seen you this angry." Emma said from the doorway. "What did she do?"

"A snide comment." Jubilee told her, still fuming.

"About the new baby?"

"You know?"

"I've known you for fifteen years, Jubilee. I know when something is different. That and I can sense the fetus. Does Logan know?"

"Yeah." Jubilee sighed. "He told me before I knew for sure."

"And..."

"We'll see. I asked him to stay with me and help raise the kids but I'm not sure if it's a good idea to pick up again where we left off."

"I don't think it's a good idea at all. You really weren't very happy."

"I wasn't unhappy until the end."

"But you weren't happy either. You deserve to be happy, Jubilee. I want you to be absolutely sure this time. I don't want to have to pick up the pieces like I did when he left you at school."

"I'm not a fragile teenager, Emma. I'm a grown woman."

"You're no less vulnerable now and you have considerably more to lose this time."

"I know," she said, miserably, "but I have to give it a chance. He's the father of my kids."

"Scott and I will be here for you, no matter what." Emma promised. "Call Steven. He has some drawings he wants to go over with you."

"I will. Thanks, Emma."

"Any time." she said as she floated out of the room.


	17. Hurt

Hurt

The team trudged home several hours later, dirty and tired.

"Gambit gettin' too old fer dis." Remy groaned. Rogue leaned against him, nodding tiredly.

"You're only thirty-eight." Scott said, hissing as the fabric of his uniform brushed up against his burned arm. "I'm five years older than you. How do you think I feel?"

"I'm going for a bath," Betsy announced, "then bed. If anyone wakes me before ten in the morning, I won't be responsible for their fate."

Emma entered the hanger in a rush. "Oh! Thank God you're back." she said in a rush.

"If I knew I'd be getting this kind of welcome, I'd have rushed back." Scott said with a gleam in his eyes.

"Not you." Emma said, distractedly as she made a bee line for Logan. "You need to talk to Mari. She's trying to run away."

"What? Why?"

"She and Jubilee had words today and it got a little physical."

"Are they okay?" he demanded.

"They're fine but they're both still very upset. You need to talk to Mari first. She's likely to be gone before too long."

Logan made it to Mari's room in under two minutes. Bobby was sitting outside to door.

"She's still in there." he said as Logan skidded to a stop before the door. "I hear her crying every once in a while."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. Emma just told me not to let her go until you had a chance to talk to her."

"Thanks, Drake."

"Any time." Bobby said as he got up from his chair. "I need to talk to you and Jubilee later."

"I'll let ya know." He did not watch Bobby leave.

Mari was sitting on the bed, her expression mutinous. He could smell that she had been crying but the tears were ones of anger, not sadness.

"Ya wanna tell me what happened today?" he asked mildly as he closed the door behind him.

"Mom hit me." she whined.

"Oh?" he asked, very surprised. "Did ya say somethin' ta make her mad?"

"No!" she insisted.

"Ya sure?"

"I didn't! I swear!"

He sighed and sat down next to her on the bed. "Mari, my mutation includes a hypersensitive sense of smell."

"I know that."

"Funny thing about lies. They have a scent. I always know when someone's lyin' ta me."

"Oh." she said in a small voice.

"Ya wanna rethink yer answer?"

She gave a small, one shouldered shrug.

"Did ya say somethin' ta yer mother ta make her mad?" he asked again.

She nodded slowly.

"What did ya say?"

She stared at her hands, not speaking.

"Mari," he said with a growl, "I've known yer mom fer a long time. The only time I ever saw her mad enough ta hit someone was when they said or done somethin' that might hurt me."

Mari's eyes flew to his, her face pale.

"What did ya say, Mari."

"She's pregnant." Mari blurted out, artlessly.

"I know."

"You know?" she squeaked.

"Yeah. I'm the one that told her."

"And you aren't mad?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"Well, I know you still love her."

"Yeah?"

"But this baby..."

"What about the baby?"

"Well..., I mean... You know."

"No, Mariko. I don't know." he growled, getting angry. "What, exactly, did ya say ta yer mother?"

"I asked her who the lucky father was this time." Mari mumbled.

Logan did not say anything. He could not trust himself not to yell at her or strike her himself. He stood and walked away from the bed, trying to hold on to his temper.

"Dad?" Mari asked.

"The baby's mine, Mari." he said through his gritted teeth. "What ya said insulted yer mother's honor. If ya wasn't my own child, I woulda killed ya fer that. What were ya thinkin' ta say somethin' like that ta her?"

"I don't know!" she wailed, tears coursing down her cheeks. "Why can't I keep my mouth shut?"

"I can't talk to ya now. I'm too mad. Don't go runnin' away. Ya know I'll find ya where ever ya go." He stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Emma Frost was leaning against the wall opposite from the door.

"Well?" she asked.

"Don't let her leave." he told her, his face still thunderous. "I need ta talk ta Jubes."

"What happened?"

"It's a family thing, Frost."

Logan slowly made his way to the team quarters giving his anger time to cool. Jubilee had said that she had been having problems with Mari but he did not realize the depth of their problems. Mari seemed to be going out of her way to hurt Jubilee in the worst way possible. He had no idea how he was going to fix this.

Jubilee had moved back into the room across from his when she rejoined the team. It had been torture for him knowing that she was across the hall but still a world away from him. Most nights, he had to restrain himself from going over and opening her door. Now, sex was not on his mind when he softly opened her door.

The room was filled with the scent of tears and pain. Not a physical pain but an emotional pain. She was curled in a ball on her side. She looked as if she had cried herself to sleep. He sat on the bed and softly stroked her cheek with his finger.

"Jubes?" he called softly.

Her sapphire eyes open. "Wolvie?"

"Hey." he said, smiling.

"I hit my baby!" she whimpered. "I lost my temper and hit my baby!" Her eyes overflowed with tears.

"I know, darlin'." he whispered, gathering her into his arms. "I heard."

Jubilee comes across as a hard nose, tough woman but Logan knew better. She tried so hard not to hurt anyone. He remembered when he found her crying in Ororo's garden over the body of a baby rabbit that had been killed by one of the cats that lived in the stables. It took him several hours to calm her enough to get the story from her. Evidently, she had let the cat out of the stable earlier in the day. She felt guilty for causing the rabbit's death. She had insisted that the bunny be buried with a proper funeral. He felt faintly ridiculous standing there speaking over the small grave of a prey animal but it made her happy.

"I know. I know." he whispered, stroking her back and rocking. He kicked his boots off and shifted her until he could lay back and rest her on his chest. She continued to cry until she fell asleep snuggled against him. The long day finally caught up with him and he drifted off as well.

He woke just as the sunlight was peeking through the curtains the next morning. Jubilee was still asleep, her face sticky with dried tears. 'She looks so young.' he thought. Compared to him, she was young. His hand drifted down to cover her belly, searching for his child. Feelings of awe, wonder and sheer masculine pride filled him. He never understood why some men bragged about their wives when they were pregnant until now. She was the proof of his virility. This baby would mark her as his, once and for all. He would see to that. He would make sure she always had his scent on her.

He looked down and sighed. He was still in his dirty uniform. The first order of business was a shower.

He returned to her room, freshly showered and carrying a tray. "Jubes, darlin'." he called as he set the tray on the table next to her bed.

She stretched and opened her eyes. "Morning." she yawned.

"Mornin'." he said as he sat down on the bed. "Got ya some tea and crackers. Maybe ya can get through the mornin' without worshipin' the porcelain god."

"Thanks." she said as she grabbed a cracker and began nibbling on it.

"How are ya feelin' this mornin'?"

She shrugged delicately. "Stomach's not too bad."

"I meant about Mari."

"I shouldn't have done it." she said, her arm dropping to her side. "I hit my own child, Wolvie."

"From what she told me, she deserved it."

"She told you what she said?"

"Not without a lot of sniffin' out the lies. She shouldn't 'a said that to ya, Jubes."

"But still, I shouldn't have hit her."

"I hate ta say this about my own daughter but she's a spoiled brat. She has no right ta say things like that ta ya and we hafta stop her now before she says somethin' ta someone who can really hurt her."

"Like I couldn't?"

"Ya know what I mean. What if she says somethin' like that ta Cain? He'd kill her before he'd let her apologize. She needs ta learn ta watch her mouth."

"I don't even know how to do it." Jubilee admitted. "I know I'm responsible for her behavior. I've always encouraged her to speak her mind. If I start telling her to think before she opens her mouth, I'll sound like a hypocrite."

"She needs ta learn that as you grow up, ya need ta learn how ta tell a 'little white lie'."

"Don't go telling her to lie, Wolvie. She knows I don't like it."

"She already lies, Jubes. We need ta teach her when a lie is better than the truth and how ta keep her opinions ta herself." Logan stood and stretched. "I'll let ya shower and get dressed. Ya wanna talk ta her before or after breakfast?"

"Before, I think. That will give my stomach more time to calm down."

"Okay. I'm gonna make sure Mari hasn't flown the coop. I'll be back in a hour ta get ya." He leaned over and kissed her. "Love ya." he said and left before she could respond.

Just as she was finishing her make-up, Logan returned with Bobby and Kat in tow.

"Drake wants ta talk ta us." Logan told her.

"Tell them." Bobby said sternly to Kat.

Kat looked at her feet without speaking.

Bobby grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. Jubilee's eyes popped in surprise. Bobby was always so easy going. She had never seen him so angry before.

"Tell them!" he ordered with a growl.

"I can't." she whined.

"Tell them of you're out of my bed." he threatened.

Kat's eyes went wide with fear. "You wouldn't!"

"Watch me! You're very good, Kat, but you're not the only woman in the world."

"But..."

"Tell them what you did."

She looked over at Logan and Jubilee, her face flush with embarrassment. "I took the note."

"Why?" Jubilee asked, not surprised. "You knew Logan didn't want you."

"Because I wanted him." Kat whispered. "I thought that if he left without telling you, you would be mad and he would come to me."

"Ya don't understand what Jubes means ta me." Logan told her in a deceptively calm voice. "We've been through more together than ya can possibly imagine. Jubes is my lifeline. I'd never do anything ta hurt her on purpose."

"We figured you had taken the note." Jubilee said.

"So you're not mad?" Kat asked anxiously, looking at Bobby.

"Didn't say that," Logan growled, "but it's not our place ta punish ya."

"Don't worry, you guys. She'll be punished." Bobby told them. "Come on, Kat." He grabbed her arm and dragged her out of Jubilee's room.

Logan and Jubilee just looked at the closed door, very surprised.

"Never thought he had it in him." Logan commented.

"I wonder what he's going to do to her."

"Not our business." Logan said with a shrug. "C'mon, Jubes. Lets go see our daughter."

Mari was still in her room, this time guarded by Gambit on the inside and Rogue on the outside.

"She still in dere." Gambit told them. "She cry sometime but don' try ta leave."

"Thanks Gumbo." Logan said. "Me and Jubes'll take it from here."

"Meeting in the War room after yer done here." Gambit said.

"Okay."

Mari looked up as they entered the room, her eyes red with tears. Jubilee's heart broke and she ran over to her and gathered her into her arms.

"I'm so sorry." she cried.

"Me too." Mari told her, crying just as hard as Jubilee. "I shouldn't have said that."

"And I shouldn't have hit you."

Logan waited while his ladies got their emotions under control. He had to hold himself back from going to them and cuddling. The tears of a woman was one of his well concealed buttons. Jubilee knew how to push it but Mari did not and he hoped she never found out. His ego could only take so much.

When they were once again calm, he knelt before Mari. "Darlin', what you said ta yer mom..."

"Was unforgivable." Mari said with a sniff. "I know."

"It's up ta yer mom ta forgive ya for what ya said but she's a nice person. I ain't sure Creed would be the same way, even though he likes ya. Yer mom always told ya ta speak yer mind but I want ya ta start thinkin' before ya talk. Some of the things ya say can hurt people or make them mad. If ya make the wrong person mad, ya can get hurt or killed."

"But Mom wants me to tell the truth."

"Sometimes you have to lie, Mari." Jubilee told her. "If the truth is going to hurt someones feelings, it's best to lie a little or not say anything. As for speaking you mind, Wolvie's right. Sometimes it's best to grit your teeth and say 'That's nice' even if the person you're talking to is the biggest ass you every met."

"We still want ya ta speak yer mind with us but if ya every say somethin' ta yer mom like that again, yer gonna get punished by me."

"Trust me, sweetie. Wolvie can come up with the worst things on earth for you to do. Last time he punished me, I had to wax the Blackbird until he could see his face in it. Took me four days to just do the wings. I would wax it and the team would be called out. I'd have to start all over again when they got back."

"Wow! That's harsh! What did you do?"

"Ya don't need ta know that." Logan told her with a fierce frown. "Ya don't need any more ideas. I can't let ya off fer this one. Ya got garbage detail fer the next month. Go get some bags and get started."

"Yes, sir." she said, hopping off the bed. She slipped her feet into a pair of shoes and marched out of the door.

"We have a team meeting, Jubes."

"Am I still on the team?" she asked as they left Mari's room.

"I think that's what the meeting is about." he told her grimly.


	18. Suspended

Suspended

"Where are Paige and Warren?" Scott asked the table at large.

"Warren had a board meeting." Ororo told him. "Paige went along as a stockholder."

"What does it matter if they're here or not?" Rogue demanded.

"Yeah!" Bobby said. "What's this meeting about anyway?"

"Two things." Scott told them. "First of all, when you agreed to join the team, you also agreed not to start families until you discussed it with the entire team. This goes double for the female members of the team. A pregnancy has a woman out of action for at least a year." He noticed Jubilee's face becoming more and more pale and Logan's becoming more and more red. He hoped like hell Logan would keep his temper.

"We know this." Ororo said. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"That's the second reason for the meeting." Scott said. "We have to cover Jubilee for the next year."

"WHAT?" Ororo shrieked. Thunder boomed outside giving everyone an indication just how angry the weather goddess was.

"You pregnant, p'tite?" Remy asked gently. Jubilee nodded.

"Oh, that's just lovely!" Ororo sneered. "We have to take up the slack because Jubilee had to have a moment of pleasure." Lightning flashed, lighting up the room with an eerie glow.

"That was totally uncalled for, Storm." Emma said sternly. "Get control of yourself. I, for one, am thrilled."

"Ah am, too." Rogue told her. "'Bout time one of us did it."

"What do you mean?" Ororo asked coldly. The weather began to behave and return to normal.

"Jubilee is the youngest of all of us." Emma told her. "She already has one child and now expects a second. I resent that she already has her family started and we haven't even discussed ours. I'm not getting any younger, Scott. It doesn't matter for you men. You can father children even in your old age. For us, it's different. We only have a small portion of our lives when we can have children safely. That window is closing rapidly for some of us. If we don't start soon, it will be too late." It was the closest Emma would ever come to admitting her age.

"Emma has a point, Scott." Hank spoke for the first time. "Jubilee is thirty-one now. This child will not be as easy to carry as Mari was. The other women will have a much more difficult time."

"What would you have me do, Emma?" he asked. "I can't have the more powerful half of this team out of action to have babies."

"You admit we're more powerful?" Rogue asked, stunned.

"Hell, yeah!" Logan said. "Not one of ya gals is less than a high powered alpha. Cyke, Drake and Gumbo are mid range alpha's and without my Adamantium, I'm a beta. We know yer the more powerful sex. Why do ya think we let ya go runnin' off with our credit cards all the time?"

"We thought it was 'cause you loved us." Rogue said with a scowl for her husband.

"Ah, chere," Remy said with a smooth smile, "Remy show ya how much he love ya." He reached over to flip the tiny switch on the pendant she wore and pulled her into his arms. His lips found the spot on her neck he knew would drive her wild and began to worry it.

"Sheesh!" Jubilee said. "Get a room, you two."

"Save it fer later, Gumbo." Logan growled. Seeing the happy couple pawing each other had given him ideas. They needed to cut it out before he had to leave.

"Gambit! Rogue!" Scott barked. "This is not the appropriate time or place."

"Later, lover." Rogue whispered in Remy's ear. Remy's murmured reply made Rogue blush and Logan snicker.

Jubilee looked over at Remy and Rogue wistfully. She wanted that kind of relationship. The kind where he still surprised you even after six years of marriage.

"Are you okay, love?" Betsy asked her. "You seem a little depressed."

"I didn't realize that my baby was going to disrupt the team like this." Jubilee said.

"Someone needed to shake us up. We've become too set in our ways. I think if you hadn't, Emma would have."

"Emma?" Jubilee asked. "Yeah, she would do something like that."

"And you wouldn't?"

"It was an accident, Betts."

"I will be shifting the duty roster." Scott said over the din of voices that had filled the room. "Jubilee, you suspended from all missions but you will still have security detail and your classes, at least until your doctor takes you off duty. Since this is your fault, Logan, you get to take up the slack."

"Now, wait just a damn minute, Scott!" Jubilee exploded. "I can still pull my weight with the team. I'm pregnant, not sick. My powers still work like they always do."

"No, Jubes, ya can't." Logan sighed. "If yer out there, we'll be spending more energy watchin' ya and makin' sure yer safe. One of us would end up gettin' hurt."

"We can't risk you or the baby, Jubilee." Emma said. "I'm sorry but you're out."

"It's not fair!" Jubilee cried. She jumped from her chair and ran out of the room before anyone could stop her.

"Jubilee!" Logan called. He rose, intending to go after her.

"Leave her alone, Wolverine." Scott told him. "When she calms down, she'll understand why we did this." He turned the the rest of the team as Logan sullenly took his seat. "The new roster will be posted tomorrow. I will e-mail each of you the full roster by the end of the week. If there's nothing else, the meeting is adjourned." No one was able to beat Remy and Rogue out of the door.

"How could you?" Ororo hissed to Logan as they left the meeting.

"'Ro, we've been over this before." Logan told her.

"Didn't you think how I would feel?"

"Why can't ya understand? I love her. I told ya that when ya snuck into my bed the first time."

"But does she love you? I wonder."

"Why in the hell would ya think she don't?"

"One wild night aside, you don't sleep with her. It seems like she's using you to help her keep Mari under control."

"Ya know somethin' Storm?" he said through gritted teeth. "Yer spendin' some time in my bed don't give ya the right ta interfere in my private life. Butt out!"

She watched as he stomped down the hall to the elevator, her heart sinking. 'Why can't he love me?' she asked herself.

"Because he is so much in love with Jubilee." Emma said from behind her. "There's no room left in his heart to love you the way you want him to."

"Snooping, Emma?" Ororo asked dryly. "I thought you were over that."

"I wasn't 'snooping', as you so eloquently put it." Emma replied. "You were thinking too loud. Why do you persist in chasing him? He obviously doesn't want you any more."

"She's using him." Ororo insisted. "She doesn't love him."

"That's where you're wrong, Storm. Logan is the only man on Earth who has the power to destroy her and she knows it. That's why she is so hesitant to let him back into her life. If she opens her heart to him and he betrays her, she would never recover."

"And if she betrays him?"

"I very much doubt that she would. She was always his biggest supporter." Emma moved past Ororo and walked serenely down the hall. As she reached the elevator doors, she paused and turned back. "Oh, and Ororo? If you hurt Jubilation, the Wolverine will be the least of your worries. I hope I'm making myself clear." With that, she entered the elevator, the doors closing behind her.

Wolverine was following his nose, tracking Jubilee as she wandered the halls. He had expected her to run to her room for a private cry and was surprised when she did not. He tracked her first to the kitchen where the scent of Sugar Bombs wafted out. 'Some things never change,' he thought with a small smile. From the kitchen, she went to the den, then the woods outside. Her scent crossed and re-crossed itself so many times that he was losing hope of ever finding her.

In desperation, he went to her room. He found her sitting on her bed, staring out of the window. She no longer smelled angry to him. Now she smelled resigned and a little disappointed.

"Darlin'?"

"You sided against me." she said without turning.

"I had ta. I don't want ya hurt."

"Why now? You never wanted me to get hurt. Why should it make a difference now that I'm pregnant? Jean went on missions while she was pregnant. Why can't I?"

"Jean was pregnant when she died."

"You knew that?" she asked, turning to look at him in surprise.

"It was hard ta miss." he said, tapping his nose. "I knew she lost a few before the last one so I was kinda surprised ta see Cyke let her go out on missions. When she died, Cyke nearly lost his mind. If it wasn't fer Frost holdin' him together, I think he woulda killed himself. You bein' pregnant reminds him of what happened ta Jeannie. If ya were hurt or killed, Cyke would lose his mind."

Jubilee did not say anything. Logan went over to the bed and sat down beside her.

"He wouldn't be the only one to go crazy, Jubes." he told her, lifting her chin with a gentle finger. "Yer my sanity, darlin'. Ya always have been. And now, yer carryin' my baby. We men are hardwired ta protect our pregnant mates."

"I'm not your mate." Jubilee told him with a scowl.

"I want ya ta be."

"No, you don't. You wanted Jean to be your mate. I can't be what you settle for, Wolvie. I can't help but think you want me because I'm pregnant with your baby and the first beautiful redhead that crosses your path, you'll be gone."

He jerked back as if she slapped him. "God, Jubes! I hurt ya bad, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did."

"I'm sorry." he said, wishing he could go back and change the past.

"Sometimes, Logan, sorry isn't enough."

He nodded silently. There was really nothing more he could say. He knew all along he would not be able to convince her with words. He would continue as he had been: Caring for her and Mari. Eventually, she would see that he did love her and wanted to spend the rest of her life making her happy.

Scott had scheduled a senior team Danger Room session that afternoon. The session did not go well. The female half of the team was distinctly distracted. By the time the simulation faded, he was grinding his teeth in frustration.

"If we perform like this in the field, we're all dead." he snarled. "What ever your problems are, they need to stay outside the Danger Room. We can't be having personal problems interfering with our function as a team. Get your heads on straight, people, or one of us is going to get hurt of killed." He stomped angrily out of the Danger Room with Emma on his heels.

"Dat was ugly." Remy remarked as he limped over to Logan.

Logan grunted in agreement. "How's the knee?" he asked the tall Cajun.

"Bruised," he admitted, "but Remy be okay in a few days. What's wit' you, homme? You kinda out 'o it t'day."

"Had words with Jubes after the meeting. How in the hell am I gonna get her ta believe me when I tell her I love her?"

Remy mulled the problem over as they went to the showers. "Gambit t'ink maybe you should woo her."

"I ain't the candy and flowers kinda guy, Rem. She'll find it kinda strange comin' from me."

"No," Remy agreed, "ya ain't but dat not de only way ta woo a femme."

"What else can I do?" He demanded, throwing his hands up in defeat.

"What did de p'tite like mos' when she was a fille?"

"Bein' with me."

"Doin' what?"

"She was happiest just ridin' around with me, not really goin' anywhere."

"Dere ya go. Take her fer a ride."

"She's pregnant, Gumbo."

"So?"

"I can't just put her on the back of my scoot and ride off. What if she gets hurt?"

"She never get hurt b'fore. Why you t'ink she get hurt now?"

Logan thought about it for a moment.

"Ya gotta do it soon, Logan. Soon she be too big ta fit b'hind ya."

"That's another thing. Havin' Jubes tucked behind me, touchin' me all up my back would be torture."

"Ah! But what sweet torture it'd be." Remy said with a wistful grin, lost in the memory of Rogue's thighs snuggled beside his as they rode. Some of the best sex they had was during the rest stops they would take on the way to the city.

"Think, Gumbo. Just smellin' her gets me hard. Havin' her touchin' me too is gonna be worse. How am I gonna keep my hands offa her?"

"Dere's still Cheryl." Remy reminded him. "She be glad ta take care of ya."

"I ain't goin' ta no whore, Rem."

"Ya gotta do somthin', homme. De femme drivin' ya crazy."

"I know, Gumbo. I can't forget."

In the end, Logan decided to ask her out on a date. It was not a first for him. He had taken many women out on dates but Jubilee's reaction was unique. She laughed.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

It took Jubilee several minutes to regain control and wipe the tears of mirth from her eyes.

"You're asking me out on a date?" she snickered.

"Yeah!"

That sent her off on fresh gales of laughter.

"It ain't funny, Jubes." he growled.

"Sure it is." she snorted. "In all the years I've known you, I've never seen you ask a woman out on a date. You usually make with the sexy eyes and they follow you anywhere."

"I ain't a social butterfly but I do date. I just never asked one when ya were around."

"Where do you take them? Harry's? The Auger? Come on, Wolvie! The places you go aren't fit to take a date to."

"I ain't takin' ya ta Harry's or the Auger." he told her, quickly changing his plans. "I'm takin' ya ta that new Italian place and a flick."

"Reggiano's? I don't know, Wolvie. That's a pretty formal place. You'd have to wear a tie."

"I know." Shit! Gotta buy a tie. "Eight o'clock?"

She looked at him appraisingly. "Alright." she said slowly. "I'll go out with you."

"Great!" he said, beaming. "I'll meet ya in the front hall at eight."

He quickly ran to Remy and Rogue's room and pounded of the door. "Gumbo!" he hollered through the door.

"Remy ain't here, sugah." Rogue told him as she approached with a basket of laundry. "He went into town ta pick up my sewin' machine."

"When is he gonna be back?" Logan demanded, panicked. "I need his help."

"Knowin' Remy, not till late. What's the problem?" She opened the door and waved him in.

"I asked Jubes ta go out with me tonight." Logan told her after she had closed the door.

"'Bout damn time, if ya ask me. Where're ya takin' her?"

"Reggiano's."

"Oh! We love that place. The foods real good but don't ya have ta wear a tie there?

"Yeah." Logan said, miserably.

"Do ya even own a tie?"

"No. That's the problem. I can't show up at a fancy place like Reggiano's with the prettiest gal in town wearin' jeans and a flannel shirt. I need help, here."

"Ah'll say ya do. Do ya have a suit?"

"I have the gray one I wore ta Chuck's funeral. Should still fit but I borrowed a tie from Cyke."

"As Ah remember, it was ugly as a donkey's behind."

"That's why I didn't ask Cyke or Emma ta help. I need someone ta pick out a tie fer me."

"Ah'll do it."

"Ya sure?"

"Sure. Ah'll meet ya in the garage. Yer drivin'."

"Can't ya do this without me? I hate shoppin'."

"Sorry, sugah. Ya need a shirt too and Ah can't get the right size without ya."

Now, when you are five foot three with have a twenty inch neck, you cannot exactly buy off the rack. Luckily, the big and tall shop he usually bought his jeans and flannel from had a fair selection of shirts that would fit him. He was able to find a white shirt that fit his neck if it did not fit his arms. Rogue chose a tie that complimented his coloring and the gray suit. He had a pair of rarely worn dress shoes and by eight o'clock, he was waiting for Jubilee in the hall and looking very different from his usual self.

"Wow! You clean up nice!" Jubilee said from the top of the stairs.

He looked up and his mouth went dry. Beautiful did not describe how she looked. She was wearing a dress of sapphire blue silk that hugged every curve. It swirled cheekily just above her knees and the bodice plunged just enough to give him a hint of cleavage.

"God, Jubes! Ya look incredible." A flash of light caught his eye. A familiar sapphire and diamond pendant lay nestled between her breasts. He reached out and touched it. He had given it to her on her seventeenth birthday. It was her first piece of important jewelery. "Ya still have it." he breathed.

"Of course I still have it. It's my favorite."

"I wasn't sure ya keep anything I gave ya after ya left me."

She reached up and touched his cheek. "Just because I couldn't stay with you doesn't mean I don't love you, Wolvie. I told you many times that I loved you and that's not something I can take back."

"Do ya still love me?"

She did not answer him verbally. She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Let's go eat." she suggested.


	19. A New Power

A New Power

"What did you think of the restaurant?" Jubilee asked as they left Reggiano's two hours later.

He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, breathing in her scent. "It was okay," he said with a shrug, "fer a little place in the village. Ya get better food and a whole lot better service in Rome."

"When's the last time you were in Rome?"

"Coupla years ago." he told her. "Had a problem with the Hellfire Club there."

"Are they still around?"

"That group is over two hundred years old, Jubes. We rip 'em apart and they just move to a new city. I don't think we're ever gonna see the end of 'em."

Logan was gently guiding her down a street that she did not think had a movie theater. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"There's a little place up here that shows classic flicks. We're gonna see 'Casablanca'."

Jubilee stopped in astonishment. "'Casablanca'? Are you kidding me?"

"Sure. I like that movie."

"But you hate 'chick flicks'."

"'Casablanca' ain't a 'chick flick'."

"It's the 'chick flick' to end all 'chick flicks'." Jubilee insisted.

"It's a great classic film and I like it."

"Oh, don't get me wrong, Wolvie, I like it too but I never thought I'd see you sit through it willingly."

"Smart ass." he grumbled.

"Do you really want to see this or are you just trying to make me happy?"

He ducked his head, embarrassed. "A little of both." he admitted.

"At least you're honest." she said with a giggle. "Let's go see the movie."

"I'm sorry for falling apart on you." Jubilee sniffed, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "I'm a little emotional right now."

"It's okay, darlin'. Yer pregnant. Yer allowed ta be emotional."

"I don't remember being like this with Mari."

"Yer older now. Yer body's older. Yer mind's older. Things are gonna be different this time."

"I guess." Suddenly, the yawn she had been holding off for the last five minutes escaped her mouth. "Sorry."

He could not help but grin. "C'mon, Jubes. Let's get ya ta bed."

"Last time you did that, I got pregnant." she mumbled.

"Well, ya can't get any more pregnant." he said, waggling his eyebrows.

"Forget it, Wolvie." she growled. She was so tempted to take him up on his offer.

"Gotta ask, darlin'. One day, ya might surprise me and say yes."

"Don't hold your breath."

The drive home was made in comfortable silence. Jubilee fell asleep long before they turned into the drive at the mansion. Logan looked over at her, his heart melting. When she was a girl, he used to love to sneak into her room and watch her sleep. She looked like an angel when she was asleep. Not that she looked bad when she was awake, but it was when she was asleep that the hurts and disappointments of her life melted away. He could look at her and pretend that no one had ever hurt her; especially him.

He pulled her car into its parking space in the garage and killed the engine. He ran a rough finger down her cheek and sighed. He hated to wake her but he knew she would not want to be carried into the house.

"Jubes?" he called softly.

Jubilee woke with a start. "Are we home?" she asked, confused.

"Ya don't sleep heavy like ya used to." he remarked as he got out of the car.

"Kids will do that to you." She was very surprised when Logan came around the car and opened the door for her. "Thanks."

"I can be a gentleman when I try."

They walked, arm in arm, through the mansion ignoring the stares from their teammates. There were quite a few whispers that followed them as they made their way to the team quarters and stopped outside her room.

"I had a good time." Jubilee told him as they stood beside her door.

"Wanna do it again?"

Jubilee flushed with pleasure. "I'd like that."

"How about tomorrow?"

Her face fell. "I can't. I have monitor duty until midnight. How about Friday?"

"Friday it is."

"Logan? Can we go to Harry's and play pool?"

"Ya said it yerself, darlin'. Harry's ain't a place ta take a date."

"But I like Harry's. I know I said that you shouldn't take a date there but some of my best memories are at Harry's. I'd like to go there and visit them."

"It ain't very romantic." he complained.

"Romance isn't the place, Logan. It's the person."

"I ain't very romantic, Jubes."

"You do okay. You don't hear me complaining, do you?"

"Well, no."

"Maybe this is what we needed to do the first time."

"Ya mean datin'?"

"Yeah. We just kinda fell into a sexual relationship without even going on a date. Most couples date for a while before getting physical. We didn't. Maybe we should have."

"Do ya regret sleepin' with me?"

She tilted her head, thinking. "Yes and no." she said slowly. "You gave me Mari and I'll never regret having her. And even though I spend several hours a day puking my guts out, I don't regret this baby either. I've discovered something about me over the years: I like being a mother. It's hard, incredibly frustrating and very rewarding work. Even the X-Men didn't give me this feeling. But I miss what we had when I was a kid. The feeling of total trust and total love I got from you. I always knew where I stood with you. That all changed when I grew up and we became lovers. I still trusted you but the loved changed. I didn't feel confident that you loved me like I loved you. I think if I was sure you loved me, even though you loved Jean, too, I would have stayed."

"I'm gonna be totally honest with ya, darlin. In a way, I'm glad ya left me. If ya hadn't, I wouldn't have known how precious ya are ta me. I'll always regret what I did ta ya. If I'd listened, to ya; really listened, I woulda realized that ya were right about Jean. I'd gotten so used ta the idea of lovin' her that I couldn't see what I had in front of my face." He reached over and touched her cheek, softly. "I love ya Jubilee and I want ya ta be my wife."

"I love you, too, Logan but I want to be absolutely sure. I couldn't take it if you left me later."

He dropped his arm and sighed. "I wish I could give ya a guarantee, Jubes. I wanna say I'll never stray but I can't. I've never been faithful ta one woman before and I don't know if I can. I definitely can't say I'll never look at another woman. Just 'cause I'm with ya don't mean I'm dead."

"I don't mind if you look. What makes me nervous is that you may find another woman more of what you want and you'll leave me. I wouldn't survive that, Logan."

Hope began to blossom in his chest. "Ya gonna give me chance?"

She leaned in and kissed him. "Yeah." She opened her door and entered her room.

Logan stared at the door, his heart swelling with joy. A smile began to form on his lips. 'She still loves me!' his mind kept repeating.

Friday's date did not happen as Logan wished. The team responded to a call from an old friend of Professor Xavier's in Ecuador. A new mutant had manifested very badly and the damage was significant. The X-Men were five weeks putting everything to rights and hunting the mutant in the jungle. Logan hated these kind of calls. Mutants who can cause wide spread destruction when they manifested usually were his responsibility. His assignment was to track the mutant and kill him. It did not help this time that the mutant was a native of the jungle and was used to moving in that environment. He was able to evade Logan for two weeks before his luck ran out.

The boy was only fifteen and scared out of his wits. Logan attempted to talk to the child but he only spoke the dialect of his village. He wanted so badly for the boy to understand what was happening to him and why he had to die but they could not find a common language. The acids the child exuded through his pores finally took their toll on Logan's healing factor and after a week of camping with him, he ended the boy's short life with a claw to the brain. He returned to the village hating himself even more for what he was forced to do.

The very subdued X-Men returned to the mansion in time for Christmas. Jubilee took one look at Logan and knew he had been forced to kill when he did not want to. Her heart ached for him. Very few people knew that he was very soft hearted and when she heard what he had to do, her rampant hormones took over and had her sitting in her empty classroom, blubbering like a baby. Try as she might, she could not gain control of her emotions.

"Logan," Emma called through the closed door, "do you know where Jubilation is?" Her skin was crawling with the emotions she was feeling broadcasted throughout the mansion and her head was screaming with pain.

Logan's face when he opened the door told her everything. He was pale and at a near panic. Curiously, he was being affected as well. "Haven't seen her." he said after several deep breaths. "Why?"

"She is radiating sorrow in thick waves. If she doesn't stop, several of out more sensitive students will be affected, including Mari. Please find her and find out what's wrong."

"Mari?" he asked, worriedly.

"I will check on Mariko." Emma assured him. "I can't narrow down Jubilee's location. She's clouding my telepathy with emotion. She's still inside the mansion, that much I know but where, I can't tell. Please find her."

Logan nodded and took off down the hall, sniffing. Emma watched him leave feeling confused. How was Logan being affected? He was not a telepath or an empath. It could not have been scent. If he had smelled her sorrow, he would have gone to her without being asked. She would need to investigate this further. After she checked on Mari and did something about her migraine.

As soon as Emma had said Jubilee was broadcasting, Logan knew where she was. She needed him. It was like he could almost feel her pulling him with her need. As soon as he entered the classroom hall, he could smell her.

'Aw, darlin'.' he thought, breathing in her sadness. 'Why are ya so down?'

"Jubilee?" he called as he opened the classroom door. He could hear her hic-cupping sobs and smell her tears so she was in the room somewhere. Her emotions were grating on his nerves like nothing else could. He felt her sadness all the way to his metal covered bones. He tried to locate her using his sense of smell but the emotions she was sending him fouled his senses.

"Jubes? Where are ya?" Her sobs echoed through the room. "Darlin', I can't tell where yer at."

He searched the room, looking in lockers and under desks. He could hear her everywhere but he could not find her.

**'Emma,'** he called in his mind, **'I can't find her. I hear her but I can't smell anything but her sadness and tears. Can you sense her?'**

**'She's in the same room as you.'** Emma assured him. **'You will need to stop her, Logan. Four of our most sensitive telepaths are badly affected, including Mari. Gambit is curled in a ball in his room, unresponsive. If you can't find her and calm her down, I will have to put her to sleep.'**

**'Do it.'** he ordered. **'She's got my brain so confused that I can't find her.'**

**'As you wish.'**

Several seconds passed before he felt the emotional backlash end. He took a shaky breath and located Jubilee's scent. He slid her desk aside. She was curled in a ball on the floor under the large oak desk. He sat down beside her and gathered her into his arms.

Emma found them an hour later, still in the same position.

"You should put her to bed." she told him, stooping beside them. "She looks exhausted."

"I just wanna hold her a little bit longer."

Emma nodded and stood.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I suspect her latent telepathy has manifested as empathy. She told me she could read Mari's emotions but couldn't influence them. I think her pregnancy has increased this aspect of her powers."

"Will she always be like this?"

"I doubt it. I think that, like gestational diabetes, it will disappear after she gives birth. The problem is that because this is a new power, she has no shields to block them and with the emotional upheaval the hormones will cause, her lack of shields is going to be a problem for all of us. What I don't understand is why you were affected. You're not a telepath or an empath."

Logan glanced up in surprise. "Ya mean only the telepaths and Gumbo were affected?"

"By the time you were able to get her general location, everyone was feeling something but the telepaths and Gambit were already disabled. I was able to hold her off by switching to diamond form." She cocked her head in curiosity. "You were already feeling her sorrow when I came to you and you knew where she was without your sense of smell. Logan, have you and Jubilee formed a bond?"

"How the hell should I know?" he demanded. "I ain't a telepath."

He rose with Jubilee in his arms. "I'm gonna put her ta bed and check on Mari."

"Mari's fine, Logan." Emma told him as she followed. "She's going to have a bit of a headache but I don't think there will be any lasting effects. I really think we need to explore this connection you have with Jubilee."

"Don't nag, Frost. It don't suit ya." He stepped into the elevator, Emma close on his heels.

"If you're able to sense her emotions then she may be able to sense yours."

"So?" He waited as Emma opened Jubilee's door and stepped aside.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Logan." she said as he gently laid the sleeping woman on the bed and removed her shoes. "Jubilee can detonate matter on a sub-atomic level. Think what would happen if she were subject to your rages."

Logan straightened up, a look of horror on his face.

"We need to explore this. I need to find a way to block her."


	20. Revelations

Revelations

Jubilee woke the next morning with her face feeling hot and crusty. Her eyes were gritty and she dreaded opening them. She laid there, assessing her physical condition. She was slightly sore all over her body and her head felt stuffy. She could not have caught a cold. Mutants do not get colds. The memory of what happened the previous night jumped into her head making her groan.

She heard her door open with a creak. "Jubes?" Logan's voice called softly from the door.

"I'm awake, not that I wanna be." she grumbled as she sat up, trying to open her eyes. It was like someone had glued them closed with super glue. She gave up, afraid that she would rip her eyelashes out.

She heard water running in her bathroom. "I brought ya some breakfast." Logan called from the bath. "Just some tea and toast. I wasn't sure if yer stomach could handle anythin' more than that." She heard the water shut off just before he came back into her room. "There's some jam if yer feelin' up to it."

The bed dipped as he sat down beside her. A cool, wet cloth was laid over her eyes. Surprised, she reached up to remove the cloth but his hand stopped her.

"Don't, darlin'. Yer eyes are glued shut by the crust. Let the water loosen it a bit before ya try ta open yer eyes. Ya wanna bite of toast?"

She opened her mouth, suspiciously and a slice of toast was inserted gently into it. She bit off a small piece and began to chew, thinking 'Who is this and where is Wolvie?' He continued to feed her the toast interspersed with sips of hot tea. Slowly, she began to relax and accept being babied for once.

"How did you know my eyes were stuck closed?" she asked between bites.

"I checked on ya. Emma's been keepin' ya asleep fer a while. We needed ta be sure ya weren't gonna fall apart again."

"Why?" she demanded, pulling the cloth from her eyes. Logan quickly took it from her and replaced it on her eyes.

"Leave it there, Jubes. Ya were broadcastin'."

"What do you mean?"

"Ya were projectin' yer sadness. Ya knocked down Gumbo and every telepath in the mansion. By the time Emma put ya out, most of the mutants in the place could feel somethin'."

"But I'm not a telepath." she objected. "How could I have done all that?"

"Emma and Hank think the baby's makin' yer latent telepathy manifest as empathy."

"Empathic projection?"

"Yeah."

She slumped into her pillows. "Oh, goodie!" she moaned. "With Mari, I kept zapping the microwave. Now, I'm zapping my friend's minds."

"Emma's gonna work with ya gettin' yer shields in shape. Hank's sure this is kinda like pregnancy diabetes and it'll go away after the baby's born."

"Why did this happen so early? I mean, I'm only two and a half months. With Mari, I didn't start doing things until I was six months."

"Hank's not sure. We gotta worse problem, Jubes. I felt what was happenin' to ya long before Emma did. She thinks we may have a psy link."

"Like Scott and Jean had?" she squeaked.

"Don't know but if the link is two way, you could feel my rages."

"Oh, shit!" she whispered. "That would be badder than bad."

"That's why ya need ta work with Emma and today." He took the cloth from her face and began to wipe her eyes. "Can ya open 'em yet?"

She held out her hand for the cloth and began to wipe away the softened crust. "I feel like I have gummy sand in them but I can open them." She squinted at him, her vision blurred from the swelling around her eyes. "I must look like dog poop."

"Hardly." Logan snorted. "Ya do look like ya had a rough night, though." He hesitated a moment. "Jubes, have ya been workin' on yer powers, tryin' ta do somethin' different?"

"Different, how?"

"Like invisibility?"

"Why do you ask?" she asked, evading his eyes.

"When ya were in yer classroom, I looked all over fer ya. I even used my nose but I couldn't find ya. When Emma put ya ta sleep, I found ya hidin' under the desk. I know I looked under yer desk when I first went in the room but I didn't see ya. The only thing I can think of is that ya learned ta disappear."

She sighed. "I learned, a couple of years ago, that I could control how light hits my body. By deflecting it in different ways, I can appear to disappear."

"Why didn't ya tell me?"

"You were the one who taught me never tell everything about myself, Logan. By keeping that a secret, it becomes a tactical advantage. What I don't understand is that it takes a lot of energy and concentration for me to do it. If I was an emotional wreck, I shouldn't have been able to make it work."

"Another reason ta talk ta Emma." Logan told her as he removed the tray. He pulled a chair over to the side of the bed and sat down. "Jubes, what happened yesterday?"

"I know why I fell apart but I'm not sure why I couldn't stop crying. When you told me what you had to do, I could feel your anger and regret. My brain flipped it and it became sadness and despair. That's why I started crying."

"All that 'cause I had ta kill a kid when I didn't want ta?"

"You have to understand, Wolvie, I've seen you kill so many times when you really didn't want to. You hate it. I always knew that but the team takes advantage of the fact that you _will_ kill. They complain when you do it because you're defending them or an innocent bystander but they don't realize that they are the ones who ask you to kill more often than anyone else."

"We all hafta do things we don't want ta do sometimes. I don't mind."

"Liar. I know you, Wolvie, better than anyone else. You hate to kill unless it's someone the world would be better off without."

Logan was not paying attention to her. He was listening to the noises her body was making. He could hear the gurgle her stomach made as it digested her breakfast, the whoosh of air as she breathed and the thrum of her heart but there was a new sound. It was a rapid clicking that took him several seconds to identify.

"Jubes?" he said slowly. "When did the doctor say he'd be able ta hear the baby's heart?"

"I have an appointment next week. He should be able to find it then. Why? Can you hear it?"

He nodded, his eyes wide. His hands twitched. He wanted, so bad, to touch her. She gently took his hand and placed it over her belly and held it there.

"Can ya feel him move yet?" he whispered.

"Not yet. What do you mean, 'him'? You think it's a boy?"

"Got a fifty-fifty chance of bein' a boy so why not?"

"Do you want a boy?"

"I just want a healthy baby, darlin'. I don't much care if it's a boy or girl."

"**Jubilee?"** Emma's voice popped into her mind. ** "I need to talk to you. Please come to** **my office."** Jubilee groaned. She did not want to deal with the White Queen right now.

"What's wrong?" Logan asked, concerned.

"Brain-o-gram from Emma. I gotta go see her." She slid away from him and got out of bed. "I'm sure she's gonna be calling for you later."

"Probably." he agreed. "I'll let ya shower and change. Have lunch with me. I owe ya a date."

"That's right, you do. Okay. I'll see you at lunch."

"Obviously, your latent telepathy has manifested but as empathy." Emma was telling her an hour later. "I'm not all that surprised. You always did have an element of empathy along with your pyrotechnic abilities. What concerns me is the power and range of your projection. You were able to affect the entire mansion last night but I don't know how far out the projection went. As an offensive weapon, it is very useful but I don't think you should train to use it as such. Hank and I believe that it will disappear after you deliver. Therefore, I believe it would be in your best interest to learn to block this power completely. My other concern is how Logan was affected. He was feeling your projections well before I became aware of them. I am not concerned for Logan. He has had decades of training in resisting psychic attacks and can take care of himself. My concern is that the reason he felt the projection so early and so strongly is that you and he may have formed a bond. If this bond is two way, you may be able to sense his emotions."

"If we have formed a bond, can you break it?"

"It depends on the type of bond it is. If it is a bond that formed because you are pregnant with his child, it should dissolve after the baby is born or transfer to the child. If it is an amplification of the bond you had with him from your childhood, it should recede into the background when the hormones are back to normal. It also could be a mate bond. If it is, Jubilee, there is nothing on Earth that will break it. You could be linked to him forever."

"Oh, that's just peachy!" she said, sourly.

"Would it be so bad? He loves you and you love him."

"Maybe he does but what if Jean comes back? We all know that she's only just taking a vacation from the living right now and she'll be back. He'll take one look and fall in love with her again. I couldn't handle that."

Emma started at her words.

"I'm sorry, Emma." Jubilee said, remembering how insecure the White Queen was with her relationship with Scott Summers.

"Hopefully, it won't happen but there are ways of keeping a man near you, Jubilee. Maybe I should teach them to you."

"What could keep a man away from the woman he loves?"

"Sex."

"What do you mean?" she asked, her eyes narrowed.

"I can teach you some techniques that will keep even a man who despises you close. Keep him happy in bed and he won't stray far."

"But Wolvie and I aren't having sex. We agreed not to until I was sure he loved me."

"That was stupid. A woman's biggest weapon in the war between the sexes is her body and if you don't mind me saying, yours is going to be stretched out of shape soon."

"I thought you called me here to help me block my new power, not discuss my sex life."

"I'm just trying to help."

"Well, don't. Wolvie and I will work out our own problems. We don't need your help."

"If you change your mind, let me know. Now, first of all, I need to look at the link you and Logan have formed. After that, we'll work on blocking your empathy."

They worked for over an hour, erecting new shields and exploring the link. It appeared as a shining ribbon of light that lead directly back to Logan's mind, branching off to Mari with a tiny tendril that went to the baby. Using the link, Emma was able to delve deep into Logan's mind, something she had never been able to accomplish on her own. The link told her many things. First and foremost, it had been present for a long time. The branch that lead to Mari and the baby was in the center of the link. It developed well after the link was formed. It was possible that Logan could use it to read Mari's emotions as well. He would need some training to do it but it was possible. It was also a mate bond but one she had never seen before. It must have something to do with Logan being a feral, not a telepath.

She placed a cup of tea in front of Jubilee as she sat in the comfortable chair in the large office. "It's a very strong bond, Jubilee." she told her as she took her own seat. "I don't think even Charles could break it without killing both of you."

"Is it a mate bond?"

"I believe so but it's not one I've ever come across before. It also has your bond with Mari in it and the one you are forming with this new baby. If I do anything, I could damage it beyond repair. I'm afraid you're stuck with it."

She swallowed hard. "Wolvie doesn't know, does he?"

"I didn't tell him when I was walking around in his head but he knew I was there. I've never been able to get into his mind before and he's going to wonder how I got there. This isn't something you can keep a secret from him, Jubilee. As the bond strengthens, he's going to hear some of your thoughts."

"I don't have a choice, do I? You're going to tell him if I don't."

"Yes, Jubilee, I will. I know you don't want him to know but this involves his mind. I can't, in good conscience, keep this from him. If you don't tell him by tonight, I will."

"You would, wouldn't you."

"This involves him on a very intimate level. He has the right to know."

"Can't you blunt it?"

"It would be like holding back the ocean with a broom. It won't work."

"Alright. I'll tell him."

"What's fer lunch?" Logan asked.

"Meatloaf." a very pale Jubilee told him. "I think I'll pass."

"Ya sure, darlin'? Ya didn't eat much fer breakfast."

"Just the thought of meatloaf is making my stomach turn. There's no way I can eat that and keep it down."

"Okay. Let's go ta Soup-R-Salad."

"Rabbit food, Wolvie?" she asked, surprised.

"If it'll stay down then that's what we'll get. Plus it's an all you can eat place. I'll find enough ta hold me till supper."

Logan made four trips to the soup and salad bar before his appetite was satisfied. Jubilee stopped at one trip.

"Can we stop at the park before we go back?" Jubilee asked as they were leaving the restaurant. "We need to have a talk and I'd rather not do this in the mansion."

It was full winter now. The city park was decked out in its winter finery with ice covered branches and a dusting of snow. It was cold but the air was still. Logan allowed his senses to expand, searching for threats. Jubilee automatically turned in a circle and did the same. They were too well trained to let their guard down. When they were sure they were alone, Jubilee began to relax while Logan remained on guard.

"So how did yer talk with Frost go?" he asked, still keeping his senses wide open.

"Enlightening." she admitted. "That's the reason I wanted to talk to you. Emma explored the link. She says it's a mate bond, Wolvie, and it's old. She's not sure when it formed but it could have been there since I was a kid. She can't break it. She thinks that if she tries, she could kill both of us."

"Is that how she got into my mind today?" he growled.

"Yeah. She used the link and slid into your mind and Mari's."

"So we're bonded?"

"Yeah." She could not looked at him, afraid that he would be angry.

"Jubes." he said. "I ain't pissed."

Her eyes flew to his in surprise. "You aren't?"

"Nah. I kinda suspected this when I felt yer sadness."

"Why would you think we had a link?"

"I was talkin' ta a friend a few weeks ago. He's gotta mutation kinda like mine."

"Feral?"

"Yeah. He told me that things happened between him and his wife..."

"I'm not sure I want to hear this."

"It's not like that, Jubes. Their marriage is pretty good. His wife is human but when he started to feel things from her, he got a little concerned. He talked ta this doctor in Seattle and the guy told him that his mutation may have caused him ta feel what was happenin' with his wife. The doctor thinks that, 'cause he's feral, he linked with his wife like some animals do with their mates."

He was quiet and allowed her time to digest what he had said.

"What are you saying?" she asked.

"I think the link is my fault." he told her, a note of embarrassment in his voice. "I think I may have formed it when ya were fifteen."


	21. Attacked

Attacked

"What?" she yelled. "You did this?"

"I didn't do it on purpose, Jubes." he defended. "I didn't even know it was possible till I talked ta Joe but it explains a lot of things that I've been feelin' fer the past sixteen years."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"When ya came back ta the mansion after Operation: Zero Tolerance, I remember thinkin' I wanted a way ta keep track of ya better. I knew ya'd been hurt real bad and I didn't want it ta happen again. Not long after that, Emplate attacked the school. Jubes, I felt ya. Not strong and I wasn't sure what it was but I could feel that ya wanted me ta come to ya."

"Why didn't you?" The hurt in her voice made him wince.

"I thought Kitty needed me more."

Jubilee sighed and turned away from him. "I needed you, too." she whispered.

"I didn't know what had happened, Jubilee. Ya wouldn't talk ta me. I didn't find out the whole story fer years."

"What does O:ZT have to do with this?"

"I think my need ta know what was happenin' ta ya made the bond. Maybe, the only kind of bond I can make is a mate bond and 'cause I wanted a way ta know how ya were, I formed one with ya. I didn't mean ta do it."

Her shoulders rose, then fell, in a heartfelt sigh. "What are we going to do?"

"Ya know what I want, darlin'. I don't have a problem with this."

"You say that now but when Jean comes back, you're going to regret being bonded to me."

He stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, his lips close to her ear. "I'll never regret bondin' with ya, Jubes." he whispered. "Yer my heart. My soul. Yer everythin' that's good in my life." For the first time, she could feel his love being transfered through the bond. But what kind of love was it? The love of a friend? The love of her body as the vessel containing his child? The love of a mate? She was so confused.

She turned in his arms and looked at him; searching.

"I love ya, darlin'. I don't care if Jean comes back, naked and ready fer action. I don't want her. I want you." He kissed her softly and to his surprise, she kissed him back. "I love you." he murmured against her lips. Emboldened by her acceptance of his kiss, he kissed her again, deeper this time. Her lips parted under his with a sigh of resignation. The small sound washed over him like ice water. He did not want her resigned. He did not want her to come to him because they were bonded. He wanted her to come to him because she loved him and knew he loved her.

He lifted his mouth, stepped back slightly and rested his forehead against hers. They stood there for a moment, gathering their scattered wits.

"I want ya, darlin'." he told her after a long pause. "When yer ready, I'll be there but I ain't gonna take advantage of the bond and force ya ta do somethin' yer not ready fer yet."

"You'll give me time to work this out in my head?"

"I'll give ya all the time ya need but I want us ta be married by the time the baby's born. I want this one ta be sure who his father is."

Her eyes flashed with anger. "You're not going to let me live that down, are you?"

"I didn't say that ta make ya angry, Jubilee. A kid needs both parents."

"Mari did okay."

"Mari'll tell ya she was missin' somethin'. Is it so wrong fer me ta want ta be a father ta my kids?"

"It's not exactly wrong, Wolvie. It's..." She stopped.

"It's what?"

Jubilee stepped away from him and looked at her feet.

"It's what, Jubes?"

"You weren't there for me sometimes, Logan. You have this thing about staying away from people you care about."

"And ya think I might run away from you and the kids?"

"I can't help it, Wolvie. I learned to do for myself but..."

"I'll hafta go on missions, Jubilee but I ain't gonna abandon my own kids and I won't abandon you."

"You promise?"

He turned her around and pulled her back into his arms. She was shivering slightly. "Yeah. I promise."

She still felt that he would lust after Jean but felt better about his promise to stay with her. It was not exactly what she wanted but it would do, for now.

"Let go back and get something hot to drink." she suggested. "I'm getting cold."

They were walking, arm in arm, back to the car when they were stopped by ten punks.

"Pretty lady!" one greasy haired boy called, making kissing noises. "C'mere pretty one. Let a real man show ya how ta swap spit."

The second the punk touched her, Jubilee went into action. She spun away from the grasping hand, bringing her own fists up. She swatted the hand away and followed through with the heel of her palm to the repeatedly broken nose of the boy.

"You picked the wrong people to screw with." she snarled.

"Bitch!" he shouted. "You broke my nose!"

The click of guns cocking echoed through the trees followed by the low growling of Wolverine.

The greasy haired one, who appeared to be the leader of the gang, looked over at Wolverine and sneered. "What do yo think you can do, shorty?"

"Wolvie, you can't kill them." Jubilee warned. "Cyke'll have a cow if you do."

"I ain't gonna hurt 'em... much." he growled. "Now would be a good time ta try yer new trick."

"I'm not going to leave you alone here." she protested.

"Jubilation, do what I tell ya."

"The hell I will! I told Cyke and I'm telling you: I can take care of myself!"

"Are you two done arguing?" the leader demanded. "We have business to take care of."

Wolverine knew that they did. He could hear the second group approaching from several directions. He and Jubilee had stumbled into a turf war among the gangs of the city.

He lifted his head and sniffed.

"Wolvie?" Jubilee asked, her eyes wary.

He nodded, confirming her suspicions. 'Dammit!' she thought.

"Ready?" he asked.

She nodded and raised her hands.

With a roar, Wolverine leapt at the largest group. As soon as he moved, Jubilee began to concentrate and, to the surprise of the three thugs who ran at her, she disappeared.

'I can't keep this up for long.' she thought to herself. 'I'm going to have to figure out a way to get Wolvie away from here before this new group joins the fracas.'

She moved around the trees, concentrating as hard as she could and quickly took stock of the situation. Wolverine had not killed anyone yet but that would change when the new group got there. Most of the thugs were trying to use their numbers to take him down. 'Yeah, right. Like ten teenagers could pull him down.'

She heard shouts from beyond the trees. 'Time to get my licks in.' She began paffing and running.

Wolverine could smell Jubilee moving around the area, keeping moving so no one could get a bead on her. This new aspect of her powers was going to be very useful but when she started paffing, she gave away her position.

"Goddammit, Jubilee! Get the hell out outta here." he yelled. An arm wrapped around his neck, attempting to choke him. He reached around and grabbed the belt of his attacker and yanked upward. There was a high pitched scream and the pressure left his neck. He turned and threw his fist in the red face, knocking him out.

'I can't believe I just did that.' he thought, disgusted with himself. 'Jubes'll never let me live it down if she ever finds out I gave the guy a wedgie.' There was a soft snicker ten feet downwind of him. 'Aw, hell!'

"Get outta here." he growled, taking out two with a fist in each face.

He could hear the laughter in her voice. "A wedgie, Wolvie?"

"Shuddup." he growled, spinning to plant a foot in the gut of one of the boys.

She thrust out her hands and released two paffs at him that split, going around him and striking a large cluster of thugs behind him. Four bodies flew back and slammed into the trees with a thud. All four slid to the ground, unconscious. She quickly moved to a new position.

The new gang flooded into the clearing, guns blazing. Jubilee realized she would be very exposed is she stayed where she was. It did not matter that they could not see her. With all of the ammo flying around, it was only a matter of time before she ran into the path of a round. The bushes she was near would not provide enough cover. A thick elm about thirty yards from where she was attracted her eye. She looked around to make sure no one was aiming her way and made a break for it. She got half way there when she felt a sharp, burning pain in her right shoulder.

Wolverine would have been having much more fun if Jubilee had paid attention to him and left. As it was, he could not concentrate on the fight because he was trying to keep track of her. He was making headway into the now twenty-three punks when he heard her scream and pain shot through his body. He saw her flash into existence near the trees. She was holding her shoulder and writhing in pain on the ground.

"Jubilee!" he roared and for the first time since the fight started, he popped his claws.

The punks stopped moving as soon as they heard the sound of metal sliding against metal and when they saw the six gleaming blades protruding from Wolverine's hands, they started backing away from him. They did not want to fight a mutant.

"Now, wait a minute, man." one of the punks said as he backed away from the furious man.

"Which one 'o ya slimeballs shot her?" he growled.

"C'mon, man." he boy pleaded, his eyes tearing from fear. "How are we supposed to know who hit her? The air was full of bullets."

"Then yer all gonna die!" he snarled. His entire world was red with rage.

"He's fucking crazy!" one of the punks screamed as he turned and ran. He was followed by the rest of the gangs, turf war forgotten in the face of certain death.

Wolverine took five bounding strides after them before he heard Jubilee moan in pain. The rage quickly drained out of him and was replaced by concern. He ran over to where she lay on the ground, her blood spilling out in an ever growing pool.

"Jubes!" he cried.

"Hurts." she hissed.

"I need ta get ya back to the mansion."

"Communicator." she gasped. "In my purse."

Logan picked up the enormous Hobo bag that she carried and cringed. He did not have the patience to search through the bag so he turned it upside down and dumped the contents on the ground. He pawed through the pile but did not see the little communicator.

"Where is it?" he demanded.

"In the pocket." she told him, her voice growing weak. "Don't leave my stuff behind."

"Just like a woman." he grumbled. "More worried about her purse than the blood spillin' outta her body."

Sparkles appeared at her fingertips but quickly died.

"Ya ain't got the energy ta paff me right now." he told her as he pulled the little comm unit out of her purse. "I'll let ya get a shot in later."

He activated the unit, trying to think who was on duty that day. He made a stab in the dark. "Bishop."

"Bishop ain't here, mon ami." Remy's crackling voice told him. "Will Gambit do?"

"Remy! I need ya ta get to City Park right away and bring Hank. Jubilee's been shot."

"Merde!" Gambit exploded. "I'll send Rogue and Beast. Dey'll get dere fastest."

"Thanks Gumbo." He clicked off the communicator and knelt back down beside her. "Rogue and Hank 'r comin'. It won't be long."

She did not answer him, her face a mask of pain and concentration. If she took time to talk to him, her shields would fail and her fear and pain would wash over him, possibly triggering a berserker rage. She had to hold her shields.

"I can feel yer pain, Jubes." he said, softly. "I can hold it together."

"Others." she whispered.

"Havin' trouble holdin' yer shields?" She gave him a slight nod. "Okay. I'll shut up now."

Her hand crept over to his. He grasped it and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Yer gonna be okay." he lied. He could hear her breathing hitch as blood leaked into her lung. He sharpened his hearing until he could hear the soft tick of his child's heartbeat. It was still strong and regular but that would not last if she did not get help soon.

A whoosh heralded the arrival of Rogue He could feel her heat as she set down and released Beast from her embrace. The large, furred mutant immediately ran to Jubilee's side. Rogue had evidently pulled him from his bath to bring him to the park. His fur had dried on the trip in a way that made him look like he was still in motion.

"The baby's doin' okay but blood's gettin' into her lungs." Logan reported to Hank. "She's startin' ta have trouble breathin'."

Hank nodded and lifted the collar of her coat to peek beneath.

"Cold." Jubilee whispered.

"You are going into shock." Hank said shortly. "Rogue, we can't take her back to the mansion. She needs a blood transfusion and surgery. Please take her to Salem General. We will meet you there."

"Make sure ta tell 'em she's pregnant." Logan warned as Rogue lifted her gently into her arms.

"Don't worry, sugah." she told him. "Ah'll take good care of her."

They watched as Rogue took off and sped toward the hospital. The small disk in Logan's hand cheeped for attention.

"What?" he growled into the comm-unit.

"Logan." Scott said. "Tell Jubilee she needs to get back. Mari's going nuts here."

"Mari's goin' ape-shit 'cause her mom just got shot," Logan barked. "Have Em do somethin' and bring her ta Salem General. I'll meet ya there."

He clicked off the communicator before Scott could ask any questions. "C'mon, Blue. Let's go."


	22. Emergency!

Emergency!

By the time they were six blocks from the hospital, even Hank could feel Jubilee's pain.

"Her shields are weakening." he said through gritted teeth. "How on Earth are you tolerating this? You have a direct connection to her mind."

"I tolerate it 'cause I know Mari's in the link, too." Logan growled. "I'm tryin' ta blunt her part of it so she don't get the full force from her mom."

"**I am blocking Mari from the link, Logan."** Emma's mind voice said. **"Storm is flying me to the hospital. I will block Jubilee as best I can when I get there."**

"**Thanks Em."** Logan sent back. "Emma's on her way. She's gonna take care of the leakage when she gets there."

"I heard." Hank moaned. "It won't be too soon for me."

"I never realized she was so strong." Logan commented.

"It is hormone driven, Logan. It will disappear after she delivers the baby."

"Are ya sure? Remember, she showed an empathic spike in her eval."

"I'm sure." Hank claimed, flipping on his image inducer as Logan pulled into the hospital parking lot.

Rogue met them in the waiting room, her face wet with tears.

"What happened?" Logan demanded.

"She stopped breathin' just as Ah got her here." Rogue wailed. "They won't let me see her."

Logan began to growl in menace.

"Let me go in and see what's going on." Hank told them, his huge hand restraining Logan. "I have privileges here. I will tell them I am her physician." He looked over to Rogue.

"I'll try." she told him and replaced his hand with hers. She no longer had Carol Danvers' super strength but she did have Sunfire's strength. It was considerable but less than she had been used to.

"C'mon, sugah." she said to Logan, steering to a chair and pushing him down. "Let Hank find out what's happenin'."

Logan jumped back up. "I wanna see her."

Rogue pushed him back down into the chair. "Let 'em save her life first, Logan. You'll just be in the way."

A gust of wind swept through the hall announcing the arrival of Storm and the White Queen. The regal women strode into the room, drawing every male eye except Logan's.

"Where is she?" Emma demanded.

"She's in shock/trauma." Rogue told them. "Hank's in with her. She wasn't breathin' by the time Ah got her here."

"She's still alive." Logan mumbled. "I can feel her. She scared and hurtin' bad."

"We know." Storm said. "She is broadcasting."

"I will block the general broadcast but I cannot block you from her pain, Logan." Emma told him. "The link you have formed is too complex."

"S'okay." he told her. "I can handle it."

Emma walked off to find her injured friend.

Ororo looked at the man she had been pining after for the past six months. He was pale, his face creased with lines of worry. She sat next to him and took his hand in hers.

"Logan..." she began.

"Save it 'Ro." he told her gruffly. "I ain't in the mood ta argue with ya right now."

"I'm not going to argue with you." she told him. "I just want to say I'm sorry."

"Fer what?"

"For everything." she sighed. "For doubting your love for her and her love for you. For demanding that you love me. I was wrong, Logan. You are a very passionate man. You love passionately and you hate passionately. I see now that when you give your love, nothing can change it." She was quiet for a moment. "I never wanted to hurt either of you."

"Jubes has been feelin' like ya don't like her anymore." he said softly.

"I love her." she said. "She and Kitty are the daughters of my heart. My own stubborn pride would not let me see that what you needed most was not me. She does love you, Logan."

"What made ya change yer mind?"

"Emma and I had a talk on the way over. Jubilee is blocking you from the link as best she can to spare you her pain. She is using so much of her energy to dampen the link that her thoughts are being projected to everyone who could possibly hear. She loves you, Logan. So much that she forgot that Mari is in the link as well. She did not even think about shielding her own daughter."

"Is Mari okay?"

"Emma blocked her as soon as she realized what was happening. She's pretty shaken up and scared but she will be fine. Scott is bringing her over." Ororo suddenly shivered. "Thank-you, Emma!" she sighed.

"Did Emma block her?" Logan asked.

"You still feel her?"

"Yeah. Emma said she wouldn't be able ta block her from me. We have a pretty strong bond."

"I did not realize how strong the link was." Ororo told him. "I guess it is best that I step aside."

"I'm sorry, darlin'. Me and Jubes have been bonded fer a long time. Jeannie wouldn't of had a chance either but I can't get Jubilee ta believe it."

The tap-tap of heels announced the arrival of Emma Frost-Summers and Hank McCoy.

"She is sedated and intubated." Hank told them. "They have placed a chest tube to re-inflate the lung and are preparing her for surgery."

"And the baby?" Logan demanded.

"The child is doing well." Emma told him. "The obstetrician believes that if Jubilee survives surgery, the baby will be fine."

"What do ya mean, 'if she survives surgery'?"

"Her pulmonaryvein has been punctured by the bullet." Hank explained. "In lung circulation, thevein is under less pressure than the artery, which is why she did not immediately die. The blood in the vein, however, is highly oxygenated. She is loosing the oxygen her body needs. The surgery is actually very straight forward. Dangerous, but straight forward: remove the bullet and repair the damage."

"Are they gonna let ya be in there with her?"

"No, Logan. It is best that I not be there. I am not a surgeon. I would be in the way."

"Please Hank. I need ya in there."

"I cannot be in the operating room but I will watch from the observation room. If anything happens, I will be there."

"And I will be there as well." Emma told him. "Anesthesia does not always keep an empath or telepath from projecting. I will continue to block her while she is undergoing surgery."

"Dad!" Logan turned to see Mari running in the door. "Where's Mom?"

"Mari." He opened his arms and she ran into them. She was trembling. The scent of her anxiety and pain was almost a cloud around her. "She's goin' into surgery. Blue promised ta keep an eye our fer her. She's gonna be okay, darlin'."

"You promise?"

He hugged her tightly. "I wish I could, baby." he whispered.

"Why don't we have a seat in the waiting room." Scott suggested.

"Emma will keep you appraised of what is happening." Hank told them. "We must go."

Logan, Scott, Mari and Ororo went into the waiting room while Emma and Hank made their way to the surgical observation room.

Four hours later, Emma and Hank returned to the waiting room and reported on Jubilee's condition.

"The surgery went well." Hank told them. "The bullet missed the bone so she should have full mobility after she heals. She was given three units of blood so she's no longer in shock. I believe she should be fine."

"She is still in considerable pain." Emma reported. "I cannot remain here and block her. I have spoken to Gambit and he will be bringing a collar. I'm afraid, Logan and Mari, that blocking her powers will not alleviate the pain you will feel from her as I withdraw. I will do what I can for Mari but I can't help you, Logan. Yours is the primary link. I cannot alter a mate bond."

"I'm used ta pain, Em." Logan told her. "Just do what ya can ta keep Mari from hurtin'."

"I can handle it." Mari protested.

"Kiddo, yer mom's gonna be in a lot of pain fer a few days. She's gonna know yer feelin' it and she'll be worried. Let Emma block ya so yer mom doesn't hafta worry 'bout ya."

"The pain from a gunshot wound is considerable, Mariko." Hank told her kindly. "Both of your parents are going to be feeling the pain. If you are going to be of assistance in the recovery of your mother, I will need you clearheaded and free from pain."

"I get to help?"

"Your assistance will be necessary." Hank informed her. "I suspect your father will be very short tempered until your mother is no longer in pain."

The two continued to talk as they walked away from the group.

"He'll keep her busy for a while." Scott said. "Logan, what happened?"

Logan told him what went on at the park and how Jubilee got shot. "We wasn't really attacked." he told him. "We was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Have you talked to the police?"

"Yeah. They got here just after me and Blue did. They said they've been havin' problems with the local gangs fer the past year."

"I heard that, too."

"Ain't there a way to get 'em ta stop preyin' on people? I know we ain't the first couple they've attacked. Why ain't we lookin' fer 'em?"

"Unless the police ask us to help, we can't get involved. It would look like we're attacking humans."

"Goddammit! Those punks are makin' this town go ta hell."

"We're not the police, Logan. Storm and Bishop do what they can but even they can't restrict themselves to a small problem like inner city gangs. We have to look at the bigger picture."

"Small problem?" he exploded. "How can ya think gangs are a small problem? They might have killed Jubilee, Cyke. That ain't a small problem in my book."

"They didn't kill her, Logan. She's going to be okay. Promise me you won't go after them."

"Forget it, Cyke. Those shits are gonna pay fer what they did."

"Logan..."

"No! Those punks almost kill the woman I love and my baby. Nothin' ya can say will make me change my mind."

"Jubilee will kill you if you run off on a hunt while she's hurting so bad."

Logan growled at him then sighed in defeat. "'Cept that, dammit."

"Family for Jubilation Lee?" a green clad woman called from a small door.

Logan and Mari immediately dashed across the room to stand before her.

"Are you her husband?" she asked Logan.

"Well, no." he said. "Not yet."

"He's my dad." Mari told her. "Jubilee's my mom."

"Are you the father of her baby?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." she said. "You can come in but your daughter can't. She's too young."

"Are you saying I'm a kid?" Mari growled, her eyes narrowed in anger.

"Mari, settle down." Logan ordered. "Ya can see her when they take her to her room."

"I'm sorry, sir." the nurse said. "Children must be twelve or older to visit."

"She's twelve." he told her.

The nurse looked at Mari, doubtfully.

"Me and Jubes ain't very tall. So our kid is short. So what?" Logan gave her a look that said 'ya wanna make somethin' of it?' The woman wisely backed down.

"She can visit on the floor but adults only in recovery."

"Fine." he said

"But Dad..."

"Mari, she's gonna be asleep. She ain't gonna be up ta talkin' till tomorrow. Why don't ya go home and get some sleep. I'll call and let ya know how she's doin' when she wakes up."

"When are you coming home?"

"I don't know, darlin'. I'll call before ya go ta bed. I promise." He pulled her into his arms and gave her a hug and kiss. "Go home with Emma and Scott."

"Okay." she mumbled.

A shout announced the arrival of Gambit. The recovery room nurse gasped as he swept into the room holding a Genoshan collar.

"How is she?" he demanded.

Logan took the collar from the taller man and said, "She survived surgery. Blue thinks she's gonna be okay." The scent of fear came to him and he turned to look at the nurse.

"You're a mutant?" she squeaked, looking at Remy's red on black eyes.

Logan began to growl at her. Remy scowled and ignored her.

"Ya see her yet?"

"Goin' in right now."

"Gambit wait here for ya. He wanna see da p'tite, too."

Logan followed the nurse through the maze of rooms to where Jubilee slept off the anesthesia. The scent of drugs was thick in the air making him woozy. He stopped and leaned against the door for a moment to let his head clear.

She was so pale. He could hear her even breaths, slightly wet but better than they were in the park. A tube snaked its way out from under the blanket to a plastic box that bubbled merrily on the floor. There was several inches of blood in the box and more in the tube. His heart jumped at the sight.

"Is she still bleedin'?" he asked, worried.

"A little." the nurse told him. "Most of the blood was already there. It was keeping her lung from fully inflating so it had to go. As soon as we're sure the bleeding has stopped, the tube will come out."

"And the baby?"

"Dr. Singh will tell you about that." Logan's stomach lurched.

"Is the baby okay?"

"The baby is fine." an Indian accent announced from the door. "You are the father, yes?"

"Yeah."

"I am Dr. Singh." he said, offering his hand.

"Logan." said, shaking the man's hand.

"Your baby is fine." Dr. Singh told him. "He came through anesthesia very well. A little too well. He should still be asleep but he is awake and very active. Do you know why?"

"It's a boy?" Logan asked, a huge smile on his face.

"Yes."

"Jubes is gonna be mad. I won."

"You won?" Singh asked, confused.

"I told her it was a boy. She bet me fifty bucks it was another girl. She's gonna be pissed. She don't like ta loose."

"Wolvie?" her soft voice called.

Logan quickly crossed the room to her bed and slipped the collar around her neck. "I'm here, darlin'."

"What's with the collar?" she slurred.

"Yer projectin' yer pain. Emma can't stay and block ya so she had Gumbo bring over a collar."

"Oh." she said, her eyes closing. Just as she settled, her eyes popped open in alarm. "My baby!"

"He's fine." he told her. "Ya shoulda left when I told ya to."

"I know." she murmured. "Sorry." Her eyes drifted closed again, safe in the knowledge that Logan was there to keep them safe from harm.

Logan tucked the covers around her and leaned in to kiss her forehead. "Ya sure the baby's okay?" he asked Dr. Singh.

"The baby will be fine." Singh assured him. "He is a healthy twelve week fetus. My question is why he is awake so soon after anesthesia when his mother is still sleepy?"

"He's just real strong." Logan told him, his eyes narrowed. "Why are ya so concerned about his sleep habits?"

"It is very unusual for a fetus to recover from anesthesia so quickly. Most fetus's of this age would be very quiet for days." He looked intently at Logan's angry face. "Your child is different. I am curious as to why."


	23. Questions

Questions

Logan's eyes narrowed in anger. He could smell suspicion rolling off the doctor. "Get out." he growled, his entire body telegraphing threat.

"Do you know why the baby is awake?" Singh demanded.

"Yer gettin' yer nose inta somethin' ya don't want ta deal with." he snarled. He raised a fist and allowed a single claw to slip out, very slowly.

Singh's eyes widened in fear. He kept his eyes on the gleaming metal as he backed out of the room.

Gambit watched the frightened man flee from the recovery room. 'What did da homme do ta piss off da Wolverine?' he thought, deciding to investigate. He slipped into the shadows and made his way to Jubilee's private recovery room.

"What happened?" he asked the obviously steaming Wolverine.

"The baby's recoverin' from surgery too fast fer him." Logan growled. "He got curious."

"Gonna be trouble?"

"Yeah. Get Cyke and Beast on the horn. We're gonna hafta move Jubes before they try some shit with her."

"Ya t'ink dey gonna try somethin'?"

"Gumbo, I always expect the worse. I ain't usually surprised."

"I'm not sure we can move her yet." Hank told Remy twenty minutes later. "She's still very ill. If we move her, we could do more harm than good."

"Dere's a doctor dat's a little too interested in da baby." Remy told him. "Logan t'inks he might try somethin'."

"Is he sure? Wait. Let me put you on the speaker phone." Remy heard a series of clicks before the background sounds became clearer.

"The doctor is getting curious?" Scott demanded. "Which doctor."

"Da bebe doctor. He's been watchin' dem all de way t'rough de operation. Da bebe woke up real fast and da homme's been askin' questions."

"The baby's awake?" Hank asked, astonished.

"Been awake since de p'tite came outta da operatin' room." Gambit told them.

"Oh, dear." Hank mumbled.

"Is that bad?" Emma asked him.

"Not for the baby," he told her. "but most fetuses of this age would be very sleepy for many days after anesthesia. I can understand why Dr. Singh is so curious. This could mean that Jubilee and Logan's baby has an active healing factor. This might be very bad for both mother and baby."

"We have to bring her back to the mansion." Emma declared.

"The baby may have a healing factor, Emma, but Jubilee does not. She is still in critical condition. Moving her now may kill her."

"Can we afford to wait until she's stronger?" Bobby asked. "What if we take turns guarding her?"

"Are you sure she can't be moved yet?" Scott asked Hank.

"I haven't examined her but I believe so. The bullet damaged the pulmonary vein. I am sure the trauma team repaired it but she will need to remain calm and fairly still for the first few days. She will also still have some blood seeping into her chest. The chest tube cannot be removed until the bleeding stops."

"How long?" Scott asked.

"Three, maybe four days."

"Gambit, has she been moved out of the recovery room yet?" Scott asked the worried Cajun.

"Jus' now." Remy replied. "Logan jus' went by lookin' like someone stole his candy. He's goin' up ta her room."

"Go up and sit with Jubilee." Scott ordered. "Tell Logan to come home and talk with Mari. She's still scared and very worried."

"Gambit got a question. How is de bebe doin' dis when his mama's wearin' a collar?"

Hank McCoy's eyes widened in surprise. "He shouldn't be." he said. "He should be as powerless as his mother. I will need to do some tests on them when they return to the mansion." Hank continued to mumble to himself about dampening fields as the others made plans to guard Jubilee until she could be moved.

"I ain't goin' nowhere!" Logan snarled to Gambit after he explained the situation to the rumbling feral. "I'm stayin' here and guardin' Jubes."

"Ya need ta go home and talk ta de fille." Remy insisted. "She need you now. Her mama's hurt and she feel it."

"Mari can handle it."

"Mari's twelve, homme." Remy reminded him. "If she was her mama, would ya leave her home, worried, and not talk ta her? Mari's a lot like de p'tite. She scared her mama's gonna die and her papa won't talk ta her. Go see yer lill' girl, Logan. She need ya now. Gambit watch over yer femme."

Logan thought it over. He did need to talk to Mari. If she was feeling even half the pain from her mother that he was, she would be frantic.

"Alright," Logan agreed, "but ya don't leave the room. Not even fer a smoke."

Remy sat down in the chair Logan had vacated. "Gambit stay right here." he promised.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." he told the Cajun thief as he grabbed his jacket and left the room.

Remy made himself comfortable while he waited for Jubilee to regain consciousness. Several people came into the room as he waited. Most of the time, it was the nurse who was taking care of her. She was a very pretty girl of about twenty. Blond hair and blue eyes that sparkled with good humor. He had to keep reminding himself that he was married and Rogue would kill him if he strayed.

But he was married, not dead and he could not help himself. He had to admire the beautiful woman. He was talking to her about the long hours she worked and how he could make those hours more worthwhile when Bobby blew in.

"Scott needs you back home." Iceman told him. "I'll watch Jubilee."

"Remy promised Logan he'd watch over his femme." he protested.

"Everyone's going to New Orleans." Bobby explained. "You're needed as a guide. Logan knows. He has to go too."

"And you ain't?"

"Not much need for me there. Too warm."

Remy sighed in defeat. "She in 'n out. She not complain but she in pain. Be sure she get somethin' for the pain when she wake up."

He grabbed his coat as Bobby settled into the chair. "Tell her Remy was here."

"I will."

Bobby looked over the woman he had known for many years. She was pale and still had blood crusting her hand. He could not stand to see it and grabbed a washcloth and began to clean her up.

The nurse watched him wash her patient, amazed that this one tiny woman had so many good looking men worried about her. This one was not nearly as frightening as the short hairy one. This one lowered the temperature in the room several degrees. She knew that the last guy was a mutant and wondered if this one was, too.

Mutants made her nervous. She had been in sixth grade math class when one of her best friends suddenly fell out of her desk and began to convulse. She found out later that the girl had manifested that day. The next time she saw her, she had gossamer wings protruding from her back and suddenly, the girl was an enemy. She joined in the abuse that the others had heaped onto the kid and never once felt shame for what she did. In her mind, the girl was no longer human. She had no right to sit in the same room as normal humans. It was only natural that she join the Friends Of Humanity on her eighteenth birthday. It was also only natural that she call her chapter president when she was assigned to take care of a woman who was being watched over by a number of mutants.

She never knew what she set in motion that day.

"I do so like New Orleans." Betsy commented as the team prowled the alleys of the French Quarter. "It's so European. It reminds me of Paris."

"It's cleaner than Paris." Logan grumbled. "Why the hell am I here?"

"I've explained it before, Wolverine." Scott said with a small sigh. "We need your senses to search for the terrorists."

"How am I supposed ta find a scent I never had in the first place?" he demanded.

"Gambit's trying to find out where they've been so you can get it."

"I don't like bein' treated like a damned bloodhound." Logan grumbled.

"Can you smell and gun powder or Plasticine?" Cyclops asked.

"All I can smell is coffee and doughnuts." Logan snarled. "Why'd ya set us up behind the cafe in the first place?"

"It's very central. Everyone in New Orleans passes here eventually."

"Terrific. We're supposed ta wait here till they come ta us?"

"We can't search the entire city, Logan. We don't have the time." Emma said joining the conversation for the first time.

Gambit slipped up next to Scott, his face a mask of frustration. "Dey gone." he told the group. "Dey left town t'ree days ago."

"Dammit!" Cyclops exploded. "Before or after we got the call?"

"B'fore."

"How did they find out?" Storm demanded.

"It doesn't matter." Emma said. "They're gone now. We have to trace them again."

"Where were they last?" Scott asked.

"Warehouse on da river. It's not far."

"Let's check it out then go home."

"Ah'm hungry." Rogue complained. "Can't we get somethin' ta eat?"

"A cup of coffee would be welcome." Emma agreed.

"Coffee and beignettes and no more." Scott told them. "We need to let Logan get a good scent trail."

"I can follow a scent that's a week old, Cyke. Don't worry 'bout me."

The X-Men were trying to ignore the pull from the many attractions in the French Quarter. They were searching for information that might lead them to the location of a known terrorist group operating out of New Orleans but they were not hopeful. They had been to the city twice in the past month looking for the cell but every time they came close, the group would roll up their tents and leave town.

It was nearly five in the morning and the team was sitting on the patio of Cafe du Monde sipping coffee and eating beignettes. All of them were frustrated with how the mission was going.

"Ya didn't need me here." Logan rumbled. "I shoulda stayed in New York ta guard Jubes."

"Gambit could only get us so close. The rest was up to you."

"Don' matter now." Remy said through a mouthful of pastry. "Dey gone and Logan too distracted ta help."

"Gambit is right." Storm said after taking a sip of her tea. "They are gone now. We will have to wait for them to resurface again."

"This is very frustrating." Emma added. "I had hoped we could catch them here in the States. I have no desire to search all over the globe for this one group."

"The only reason we're concerned about this one over any of the others is that they're operating in the United States." Scott told them. "I can't allow them to do that. It's bad enough that they attack us on our own soil but now they're setting up and running operations here. It bites my butt."

Strangely enough, no one commented on his use of slang. The entire team was too busy watching Logan as he slid to the ground, his face pasty white. It was such a novel happening that they sat there, stunned, for almost fifteen seconds.

"Logan!" Betsy shrieked.

"Emma, blind the crowd to us." Scott ordered as he jumped out of his chair and stepped over to the stricken man.

Emma worked quickly to delete their presence from the minds of the early morning crowd as Scott and Betsy leaned over Logan.

"He's not breathing very well." Betsy whispered to Scott.

Scott lifted the heavy, limp wrist of the older man and took his pulse. "His heart is beating too fast. We need to get him back to Hank. Can you lift him?"

"No problem." she insisted. She concentrated briefly and Logan's body rose from the pavement and floated quickly out of the patio.

"Let's go." Scott ordered. The team made their way quickly to the hidden Blackbird.

"He has been unconscious since he collapsed." Ororo told Hank McCoy over the com on the way home.

"Mari has as well." Hanks worried voice told them.

"Emma?" Scott growled. "Check on Jubilee."

"I get no sense of her at all, Scott." Emma's frightened voice told him from the seat behind him, her mind frantically searching for Jubilee.

"Is she dead?" Rogue demanded.

"I don't believe so." Emma said. "I believe I'm being blocked."

"Why is he like this? I thought you couldn't alter a mate bond." Scott growled.

"I can't." she confirmed. "Not without causing them extreme pain."

"Has the bond been severed?" Betsy asked.

"I don't know. The only way I have ever been able to get into his mind is when he let me in. He has a very strong natural shield and with his Weapon X training, he has almost unbreakable shields. Whoever is doing this is very strong."

"And very dangerous." Scott commented grimly. "Is he stable?"

"He seems to be." Ororo replied.

"Hank, we're going to the hospital. Make sure Mari's okay."

"What about Logan?" Hank asked.

"He's okay right now. If anything happens, I'll let you know."

Logan was groaning awake as Scott was descending beside the hospital. His head was throbbing like someone had hit it with a steel beam. When the throbbing did not stop, he became concerned.

"What the hell happened?" he demanded with a low moan. Pain was shooting through his body.

"You passed out, luv." Betsy told him quietly.

"I don't pass out, Betts. Who hit me?"

"You didn't get hit, Logan." Emma told him. "You passed out."

"Mari did, too." Rogue added, helpfully.

"Logan, search the bond." Emma ordered. "Is Jubilee still there?"

Logan pushed past the pain and reached out for the bond. It was still there but where it used to be a glowing warmth, now it was a fiery pain radiating out to encompass his entire mind. He got no sense of Jubilee from it at all. Panic began to rise.

"Jubes!" he yelled as he scrambled to his feet. "Somethin's happened. I don't feel her."

"Will you let me look?" Emma asked.

"No time. I gotta check on her."

Logan was out of the plane before Scott landed it. He hit the ground and rolled, coming to his feet in one graceful motion. Before the rest of the team could de-plane, he was running down the corridors of the hospital on his way to Jubilee's room passing several startled staff members as he went. He burst through the door into her room, his claws out, ready for battle.

The bed was empty, the sheets in a pile at the end of the bed.

"Where is she?" Logan roared.

Storm and Rogue flew into the room and looked around as they landed.

"Bobby!" Rogue shrieked. She ran to the corner and bent down. A pool of dark blood surrounded the head of the unconscious Iceman.


	24. Missing

A/N: Sorry this is so late. I've been having problems with my computer and life has been taking up a lot of time. So, without delay, on with the story.

Missing.

Scott, Emma and Remy ran into the room just as Logan grabbed the limp body of Bobby Drake and shook him. "Drake!" the frantic man yelled. "Where is she?"

"Logan! Stop!" Rogue screamed. She grabbed him and pulled him off the unconscious Iceman. "He can't tell ya nothin'. He's out cold!"

"He knows what happened ta my Jubes!" Logan told her, his voice desperate.

The others gathered around the insensate Bobby while Rogue tried to calm the obviously terrified Logan. "Ah know, sugah," she said in a soothing tone of voice, "but he ain't gonna tell ya nothin' fer awhile."

"What the hell is going on here?" a harsh voice demanded from the door.

Logan looked around Rogue to see Dr. Marshall, the surgeon, standing in the door looking angry. This man was different than the doctor Logan met earlier in the week. This man was known to be tolerant of mutants.

"Ms. Lee needs quiet and calm if she is going to recover. I must ask all of you to leave." He spared a glance at the bed and his eyes widened. "Where is my patient?"

"That's what we are trying to determine," Emma told him. "I lost contact with her thirty minutes ago."

Storm moved just enough for the doctor to see Iceman laid out on the floor. "What is going on here?" he demanded as he rushed by the startled team. He performed a quick examination while the mutants all tried to tell him their stories.

"Concussion," he announced. "Is there any way to make him ice up? If we could cool his brain, the swelling shouldn't be too bad."

"You know who we are?" Scott asked, astonished.

"I've been a fan of the X-Men for years," the doctor told him. "Can you get him to ice up?"

"Emma?"

"I'll try," she told them.

Emma concentrated, searching the unconscious Iceman's mind for the clusters of neurons that activated his powers. It was easier than she expected it to be. Once, many years ago, she had taken possession of Bobby Drake's mind and controlled him. She was very familiar with his mind and the secrets it held. All around her she saw the intelligence that he tried so hard to hide. Amid this powerfully logical mind, she found his control center and triggered his powers.

Suddenly, the prone body was clear and extremely cold.

"He's not going to stay this way for long," Emma told the doctor. "This isn't his natural state."

"Just long enough to get him to the trauma room. That's all I need." The doctor ran to the door and poked his head out. "Damn. Never a gurney around when you need one."

"Never mind," Betsy told him as she telekenetically lifted the icy form from the floor. "I'll follow you."

Logan, who made to follow them, growled when Scott grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Bobby's not going to be any help, Wolverine. It's time to broaden our senses and change the way we search."

Logan saw the gleam of anger in Cyclop's eyes and nodded.

"Emma?" Scott said without turning. "Do you sense anyone who has a naughty deed in mind?"

Emma gave a very unladylike snort. "All over the place. The nurse at the desk is planning to screw one of the residents in the linen closet on her lunch break. Another is going to try to trap her boyfriend by getting pregnant. The orderly is stealing money from his mother..."

The nasty glares from most of the team made her stop.

"You smell anything?"

"Yeah."

"Can you track her?"

"Depends on how many chemicals I run across."

Logan took a deep sniff and began to walk, his head lowered. Jubilee's scent was as familiar to him as his own. Even with the changes her pregnancy made in the top notes, the basic scent did not change. It was second nature for him to follow it.

The trail led him to the elevators. "She went in," Logan told them.

"Up or down?" Gambit asked.

"Up," Cyclops told them. "There's a heliport on the roof."

Wolverine swore softly as he ran to the stairs. He was followed very closely by the remainder of the team.

He stood in the center of the large 'H' that marked the helipad, his expression thunderous.

"No helicopter," Cyclops remarked.

"They're gone," Wolverine growled.

"She was here?" Cyclops asked quietly.

He did not answer. Instead, he turned sharply and headed for the door.

"Logan?"

He could not speak. His rage was too great. The Wolverine's mate and unborn pup were missing. Every instinct told him he needed to find them and kill the ones responsible for taking them away.

"Logan?" Scott repeated. "Was she here?"

With a roar of rage, Wolverine popped his claws and tore into the door to the hospital. On this door was the last solid evidence that Jubilee had been there. She must have brushed against the casement as she was taken through the door. Her scent was there; right at the level of his nose.

"Ah think he said 'yes'," Rogue said drolly.

It took the rest of the team almost fifteen minutes to get Logan calm enough to return to the Blackbird. The trauma doctor assured them that Bobby Drake was stable enough to move. He most assuredly understood why they did not want to leave the injured man in their care. He gave them his cell phone number if any complications arose.

Logan was silent during the flight back to the mansion. A small part of his mind felt the guilt that Bobby was injured while guarding his mate but the major portion was taken up with the fire of revenge. He repeatedly probed the bond, searching for some clue as to where Jubilee was. It no longer radiated the fire that burned his mind but it was not clear anymore. Probing the link was like swimming through dried cement. He could feel the thrum of life from the other end so he was sure she was still alive but the vibrations came from every direction. The more he probed, the angrier he became.

Scott and Betsy watched Logan with wary eyes during the short flight home. They could see the thunderhead gathering in his eyes and knew the coming storm would be bloody.

"How bad is he?" Scott whispered to Betsy.

"I can't use my telepathy but I can tell he's nearly white hot with rage," Betsy told him. "I would suggest we not interfere or he could kill us."

"I can't let him go off and search on his own. He'll leave a trail of blood that could cross the continent."

"The globe," Betsy corrected, "but I don't see how you could stop him."

Scott landed the Blackbird in the hanger with an uncharacteristic thump.

"Sorry," he mumbled, his face bright red.

Logan listened to the noise as the team de-planed, his mind a whirl of thoughts and emotions. The top most emotion was rage. He could feel it pouring off of him in huge waves. His vision was beginning to turn red with it. The beast wanted out. It wanted to tear into the ones responsible for taking his mate. The man was in the background screaming that they needed to gather information first. The struggle was fierce but silent and the beast was winning.

He had no idea how long he sat there struggling for control. The man in him knew he had to get out before he hurt someone. The urge to kill was almost overwhelming. His body shook as he mentally wrestled the animal down. He knew he could not cage the beast. Maybe he could control it enough to make it to the Danger Room.

He walked down the ramp still struggling. Raised voices made him look up. Two juvenile females entered the room arguing loudly. The scent of their anger and hostility fueled his own rage, making it swell. His control became dangerously thin.

"You're such a princess, Lee," Allyson sneered. "You get whatever you want, even a skate on the history test. Must be nice to be the bastard of the Wolverine."

"I didn't get off 'cause I'm Wolvie's daughter, Ally," Mari protested. "I still hafta take the test."

"Sure ya do."

"My mom get shot, Allyson, and then something happened to her that knock me out. I can't take a test if I'm unconscious."

Allyson Green and Jubilee had been butting heads all semester. The beleaguered teacher had been trying to pound the algebraic equations Allyson would need to graduate into her thick head all semester. The more Jubilee pounded, the more Allyson resisted. Only three days before, Jubilee had informed her that she was in danger of failing algebra... again.

Allyson hated Jubilee.

"You know something, Lee?" she hissed. "I'm glad she's gone. That means Mr. Drake is going to take over her class. Iceman's easy. All I have to so is show him some leg and, poof, I got an A. I hope she never comes back."

She never saw the hairy hand that swatted her across the room. She did, however, see the sparkling Adamantium claws as they arced over her head and raced toward her face.

"Daddy!"

The claws stopped, the middle blade dimpling Allyson's cheek. She could feel blood trickle down her skin. She had never been more frightened. Her mutant power activated in self defense and she disappeared. Not all of her. She could only become invisible if she remained completely still. Her chest was moving too fast for it to vanish completely.

Wolverine stood there breathing hard with anger, one hand wrapped around the throat of the impudent female and the other poised to kill her. The bitch had some nerve. Not only was she yelling at his pup, she was glad his mate was missing. She was not his offspring. He had every right to kill her for her actions and her words.

He could feel the soft hands of his pup on his arm, trying to pull him away.

"Dad!" Mari screamed in his ear.

He could feel her mind trying to get past his shields. 'No way, pup,' he thought, reinforcing his mental defense.

"Let her go, Dad." She pulled as hard as she could on his arm.

Wolverine turned his head and growled at her.

"Don't you growl at me, you hairy pig," she snarled back at him. "Get your shit together and get out of here."

He stared at her, growling softly. She curled her lip and softly growled back. She found that she was her father's daughter after all. For the first time in her life, she felt her feral blood calling to her. She instinctively knew how to handle him in this state.

She knew she had to submit to him. He was the alpha male in their family. If she did not submit, he would kill her for usurping her mother's position in their small pack. She held his eyes for a second longer, waiting for the small spark of humanity. When it flashed in his eyes, she dropped her gaze to his chest.

Slowly, Wolverine relaxed his grip and withdrew his claws. He stepped back and retracted the blades, taking a shaky breath. Without saying a word, he turned and walked out of the hanger.

Mari watched him leave, a strange tingling snapping along her nerves. She did not understand what was happening to her. Her skin itched, her nose burned. The sensations had been growing ever since she woke up in the Med-Lab late that afternoon. What was worse was the anger that burned deep in her heart.

"Your dad is crazy, Lee," Allyson said as she reappeared. Her hand went up to wipe the blood off of her cheek.

Mari spun and grabbed the older girl by the throat, slamming her against the wall.

"You're lucky I didn't let him kill you," she snarled.

"Mariko!" Emma barked from the door. "Unhand her immediately."

Mari tensed, her hand tightening on the other girl's throat.

"Let her go, Mari," Emma told her, firmly.

Mariko curled her lip and growled at the terrified older girl. Her blood was singing in her veins, demanding she do something about this frail being that reaked of fear.

"Mariko," Emma said, trying to break through the feral rage taking over the girl's mind. "Don't give into the emotions. Control yourself."

Mari could barely hear Emma. Her mind was nearly throbbing with energy and emotion that she did not understand. Scents came to her in a cloud. None of them made sense to her. The one scent that captured her attention was a sharp, acrid tang that sat in the back of her throat. The taste of it made her hungry although is was not a physical hunger.

Allyson took advantage of Mari's preoccupation with the scent to pull away and run. As soon as she left, the scent dimmed and faded. Mari shook her head, confused.

"Mari," Emma called for the fifth time.

"Ms. Frost?"

"What happened?"

Mari paused before she answered. "I'm not sure."

"Describe what you were feeling," Emma ordered.

"I can't," Mari told her. "Not right now."

Emma watched as Mari ran from the hanger, the girl's shields solidly in place. She had a suspicion about what was going on but she hoped she was wrong. Is she was right, Jubilee would have a lot of explaining to do.

Mari ran to the dorm, her mind filled with confusion and fear.

'What is wrong with me?' she thought. 'Why do I feel this way?'

She plowed through several clusters of students as she ran. Cries of surprise and curses followed her through the halls. Her feet slowed as she approached her room.

Through the door, she could hear Allyson's angry tirade.

"Stupid cunt thinks she's so special."

The bang of a dresser drawer echoed in the room.

"Thinks she can lord it over the rest of us just because her parents are teachers. Her mom's an old has been who can't even control her powers and her dad's a stupid animal. I'll show her special. No one likes the little bitch anyway. It won't take much to make her leave."

Mari heard the tinkle of glass shattering and knew that Allyson had broken the crystal horse her mother had given her on her tenth birthday.

A crowd had gathered in the hall. Curious faces surrounded her.

"Go back to your rooms," Emma ordered as she approached the painfully curious group. I will take care of this situation. Mari, maybe you should speak to your father. I believe he's in the Danger room."

Wolverine. Yes. Maybe he could help her understand what was happening to her. She started walking to the elevator to the sub-basements when another thought made her freeze in her tracks. 'Maybe what I'm feeling is feral, like Dad. Maybe this is something he gave me along with the eyes and the scent. I need to talk to him. Hopefully before I go out of my mind.'

The halls closed in on her as she sprinted. Gleaming wood, the glistening steel. She ran to the only place she knew where she could give in to the feelings boiling through her. The doors were closed, a red light over them told her she was locked out.

"No!" she growled. She automatically punched in the code to the alarm system her mother had installed in their home in California. The door groaned open.

She stepped through

The door closed.

The keypad on the inside drew her eye. If the first code worked, maybe the second would work as well. She keyed in her mother's bank card PIN and the door clanked.

From the control room, Scott and Rogue watched as Logan tore up the Danger Room. They were exhausted just watching him. Both were also a little bored.

"How long do you think it will be before he calms down enough to think?" Scott asked, examining his fingernails.

"He's pretty pissed off," Rogue told him. "I've already sent just about every drone in storage at him and he ain't slowin' down. I'd say he's gonna be at it for another... SHIT!"

"What?"

"Get the doors open!" Rogue screamed.

"What's happening?" Scott glanced over her shoulder at the computer screen. Logan's codename was in white print with a line of telemetry marching behind it. And in student green, was Mariko Lee with no telemetry.

"501 over-ride," the computer announced.

Rogue and Scott watched in horror as the safeties clicked off, one by one.

"Oh, God." they both whispered, mostly in prayer.

501 over-ride could not be stopped by any outside source. The safeties were off and Mari was in the room with a completely feral Wolverine.


	25. Challenge Issued

A/N: Sorry this is so late. I lost my beta reader and have been having computer problems to the point that I've been off-line almost 2 months.

Challenge Issued

Slash. Thrust. Duck. Stab. Roll. Dodge. Uppercut.

He was beyond pain now. Wolverine had been in the Danger Room for over an hour destroying millions of dollars worth of training equipment. The drones were designed to be torn apart just not all at once. The beast in him did not care but the man knew he would be hearing from Cyclops when he left the room, not that he really cared about what old One Eye said. One of the drones got lucky and connected with his jaw. His head snapped back. He growled, furious at his inattention and immediately struck back. The drone fell in scattered pieces.

He swiped distractedly at the sweat rolling down his brow. Despite his numerous claims, even in a berserker rage, Wolverine never truly became an animal. He still had to sweat to control his body temperature. There were times when he wished he could pant instead of sweat. Panting made noise be sweat smelled. He could ignore the sounds but his sensitive nose could not tune out his own funk. He reeked and he knew it.

The problem was that even after over an hour of fighting, he still had no control over the rage.

He looked around, trying to find another opponent only to find the dirty street deserted. He growled in frustration. He scowled up at the control room, angry that Rogue had stopped the flow of drones. He could see Cyclops and Rogue gesturing frantically at him, yelling. Even his ears could not hear through the sound dampening glass the room was built of. He was trying to read their lips when he was hit hard from behind.

He fell hard to the floor, confused. Small hands continued to pummel him. It was not painful, just very annoying. The anger that simmered beneath the surface surged to the front and he flipped over, pinning his attacker with one arm across the chest. He popped his claws and raised them, readying a killing strike.

"That's your answer to everything, isn't it?" she sneered. "Kill it and think about it later."

"Mari?" He looked down at the angry and confused face of his daughter. "What the hell are ya doin' here? I coulda killed ya!"

"Why don't you?" she demanded. "You could save me a bunch of trouble."

Logan relaxed, allowed his claws to slide back into the housings in his forearms and sat up, still holding Mari down with his thighs. He crossed his arms and glowered down at her.

"What are ya talkin' about? And it better not be more of that teenage angst crap. Yer mom's better at dealing with it than I am."

He glanced up at the control room. Rogue had taped a sign on the window informing him of the 501 over-ride.

He sighed and shook his head. "End simulation," he growled to the computer. The street dissolved into the stark metal of the Danger Room. The door groaned open as Cyclops and Rogue rushed into the room.

Logan was lifting Mari to her feet when Scott skidded to a stop in front of them.

"If you ever do anything like that again, young lady, I'll see to it that you are expelled." Scott's face was red with rage.

"Cyke," Logan said, his eyes never leaving Mari's face. The scent of anger was growing and it was coming from his carefree, happy-go-lucky and very meek daughter. "Maybe this ain't the best time to yell at her."

"She could have been killed!" Scott yelled.

"Who gave her the codes?" Rogue demanded. "How did she know how to use 'em?"

"We couldn't even tell you she was in the room," Scott said, throwing his arms up in frustration. "I've never had a student enter the Danger Room when the team in using it. None of the others are dumb enough to try something like this. And to use a 501 over-ride code, known only to the team, is the height of stupidity. There's a reason we don't let students use over-rides, Logan and this is one of them."

"Shut up!" Mari screamed at him as she flew at him, her nails aiming for her teacher's face. Logan caught her before she could connect and do any damage.

"Get out, Cyke," Logan growled, his own anger resurfacing.

"No, Logan. We have to deal with this now, before she gets in into her head to pop in when the full team is training."

"Back off. I'll deal with it." Mari was still struggling in his arms, her expression almost wild.

"Logan..."

"Back off, Scott," Emma told him from the door. "Logan should deal with this. He's her father."

"And I'm Headmaster," Scott countered.

'Trust me on this,' Emma told him in his mind. 'Logan is the only one who can help her and make her understand.'

'Why do I get the impression that we're talking about two different things?'

'Maybe because we are,' she sent back with a mental smile. "Come on," she said out loud. "There's an incident with Allyson Green that we need to deal with."

Logan had to hold on to Mari as she struggled to go after Scott.

"Settle down, kid," he ordered. "Why are ya so hot ta tear inta Scooter, anyway? I know he insulted ya but this ain't you."

"I know it's not me!" she yelled into Logan's sensitive ear. "I don't know why I want to kill him but I do!"

"Ya want ta kill him?" Logan asked, astonished.

Tears began to fall down her cheeks. "Why do I feel this way?" she whimpered. "Why does everything make me mad? Why does everything smell so horrible?"

Logan froze. "Smell?"

"Everything stinks now. It wasn't like this last week. What changed?"

Logan gave a silent groan. 'Why does everything have to be so complicated?' he asked himself.

Mari watched the play of emotions race across her father's face. She shoved against Logan's chest, struggling to get out of his arms. He released her without comment.

"This is your fault, isn't it? I'm having all these things happen 'cause I'm your daughter."

"Hank's the only one who can say if it's me..."

"It's you," she interrupted. "Why didn't you tell me this would happen? Didn't you think I'd want to know? Didn't you think I'd have some problems? Were you just going to let me flounder, maybe kill someone before you let me in on the secret? How could you?"

"Mari, ya manifested at eleven," Logan said, attempting reason. "Ya didn't show any feral traits at the time. We didn't think ya'd have any other powers. How was I supposed ta know?"

"You've been around forever, Dad. You've seen more mutations than any other person on the planet. You've met the children of other ferals. Don't most of them have feral mutations too?"

"Mutations are mutations, darlin'. Everyone's mutations are their own. They don't necessarily breed true."

"I don't give a damn if they don't breed true," she yelled. "I just want to know why you didn't tell me this might happen!"

"Mari . . ." He reached out to touch her and try to dim her anger but she back flipped out of reach with a move that was pure Jubilee. His heart contracted with pain at the reminder of why he was in the Danger Room in the first place.

"Don't touch me!"

"Stop it, Mari," he growled through gritted teeth. "I can't deal with this right now. We'll go to Hank and see what he can tell us."

"I don't want to talk to Dr. McCoy," Mari hissed. "I want the answer from you. I want to know if I'm dangerous right now."

"I can't give ya one," Logan yelled. "I couldn't even keep yer mom safe so I aint the one ya should talk ta."

Mari heard the catch on his voice. 'He blames himself,' she thought.

"You didn't lose her, Dad," she said softly, her anger rapidly cooling. "Someone took her away. We thought she was safe in the hospital."

"I shoulda known better."

"Since when are you a pre-cog?" she asked, sarcastically.

"Ya don't hafta be a pre-cog ta know when ya screw up."

"You didn't screw up, Dad," she hollered. "Dammit! Why can't you understand? You aren't God. You're just a man!"

She stopped her tirade and walked over to him, placing her hands on his jaws. She lifted his chin and forced him to look at her.

"Those men hurt Mr. Drake and took Mom," she said with a soft, passion filled voice. "She's still alive. I can feel her and I know you can too. We'll find her."

Logan frowned at her. "Ain't no 'we' about it, Mari. Ya ain't gettin' involved in this."

"She's my mom, Dad. I want to help find her."

"Ya ain't ready."

"Then get me ready," she challenged.

"No."

"Yes," she countered.

"No, Mari," he said, pulling out of her embrace. "I lost yer mom. I ain't loosin' you, too."

He walked over to the locker and pulled out a towel. He was mopping the rapidly drying sweat from his neck when he heard the challenge he could not ignore.

"You think you can't do it?"

He whirled to face her, his expression angry.

"I know I can," he snarled.

"Then do it."

He stood there, his breath heavy with anger at her for forcing him.

"If you don't, I'll get Vic to train me."

"Goddammit, Mari!" he exploded. "You stay away from him!"

"He's my best friend. He's always been there for me."

"He's got more enemies than Saddam Hussein."

"And you don't?"

"I ain't got the whole flamin' United States Army after me! Not ta mention SHIELD!"

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked him over from head to toe. "And there but for the grace of God go you," she paraphrased.

"God ain't got nothin' ta do with it."

"Doesn't He?" she asked. "Think about it. Think about all the times it could have gone differently. Meeting the right people at the right time. It's happened to you over and over. Hell, think about what would have happened if you hadn't met Mom. You've got someone looking out for you."

She tilted her head and looked into his eyes, seeing the denial in them.

"You may not believe it but you do."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better about ya wantin' ta train?"

"I figure whoever is watching out over you will keep me safe," she explained, shrugging her shoulders. "Whatever. You got a choice: You train me yourself or I call Vic and get HIM to train me."

He scowled at her, seething. "Ya would, wouldn't ya?"

"In a heartbeat."

He gave a frustrated sigh. "Alright. I'll train ya but only so's ya don't get taken, too."

"Great!" she crowed. "Let's get started." She shifted her weight to balance on her toes, ready to fight.

"Not till ya see Hank," he said, walking to the Danger Room door.

She gave a defeated sigh. "I was hoping you'd forget about that. I hate needles."

Mari sourly watched Hank happily skitter about the lab, moving from one piece of equipment to another with obvious glee.

"Your parents never let me do these tests on them," he told her with a toothy smile. "I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to do them on you, my helpful young friend."

"Yeah, well, there's a reason they didn't," she said with a pronounced pout.

"Oh, come now. That wasn't all that painful."

"You weren't on the pointy end of the needle," she grumbled.

"But I learn so much doing them," he told her. "You are the first subject I've had the chance to study that is known to be the offspring of two Alpha level mutants. This is my chance to prove or disprove the theory that two high level mutants will spawn an Omega mutant. That mutations become more powerful in successive generations."

"And ..." Mari could not help herself. He made it sound so interesting.

"In your case, it is most definitely not true," he told her. "You are a Beta level telepath with a healing factor. Your telepathy most likely will never be Alpha level."

"And the healing factor?"

"Not nearly as effective as Wolverine's. You will not be able to recover from a fatal wound as your father can so you can't be as reckless."

"So I'm not X-Men material."

"Probably not," Hank told her, an apologetic look in his eyes.

"What about the other things?" she quickly asked. "The stink and the sounds?"

"You inherited you father's senses but not to his degree. Your's are more like mine. You will eventually learn to recognize people by their scent but you won't be able to track them weeks after they left the scent."

"I recognized fear from Allyson."

"Fear is a very powerful scent. Even normals can smell it but they don't recognize it as fear. Human pheromones are the same way. Normals can smell them but they don't realize that the scent that's attracting them is a hormone. You will and not be fooled by the good smelling young man with ulterior motives."

Mari thought about it for a while. "Why didn't I smell things before?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "You said that all this began after you lost your connection with Jubilee?"

"I didn't lose it," she barked. "It's dimmed but it's still there."

"Of course, my dear," he said quickly.

Mari's mouth dropped open in surprise. "You don't think she's alive," she accused.

Hank looked at her, debating how to discuss this. As her father's daughter, she might smell if he lied but she was only twelve. Talking about the possible death of her mother would be traumatic.

"I don't know," he said, deciding to be as honest as he could. "I want to believe she is but if she's in the hands of some unscrupulous scientist, she might be dead."

"That's why it's important that we find her quick like," Mari told him, hopping off the table and gathering up her clothes. "The longer we leave her out there, the better the chance they're going to get what they want and kill her."

He watched her climb into her clothes and leave the Med-Lab.

"That's the trouble, Mari," he murmured. "What do they want?"


End file.
